Flower Delivery
by Kinky-Hoe
Summary: AU. Successful businessman Inuyasha Takahashi can't handle a relationship; he sends his moody girlfriend apologetic red roses at least twice a week. How does plain Kagome Higurashi know that? Go figure; she delivers those flowers. IY/K. Complete.
1. Night Delivery

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

* * *

**Flower Delivery**

_**Night Delivery**_

"You should go home, Kagome."

Tired chocolate orbs stopped staring at the computer screen to meet the old figure of Kaede, who was looking at her reprovingly.

"It's late and nobody's driving you home tonight," added the owner of the shop, her hands crossed on her back.

Kagome's lips curved into a reassuring smile. "It's alright, Kaede," she replied. "I'll call for a cab or something like that. I'll close the shop; go to sleep already," she suggested before returning to the computer screen, checking their income. And it seemed that they were still doing great.

The old lady sighed, knowing that the young woman wouldn't listen to her, and headed upstairs, to her room.

Kagome glanced at the clock and her eyes widened; it was almost midnight. No wonder Kaede was worrying about her going home…. Hopefully, the next day would be Sunday, which meant no work. Kagome gathered her coat, her purse and other belongings before turning the computer off. She had reached the front door when the phone started to ring. Kagome frowned; her mother had called earlier, Ayame was spending the night with her boyfriend… was it for Kaede herself?

The raven-haired woman shrugged and waited for someone to leave a message. She would then judge if it was important or not….

**_"Hello, you have reached Kaede's Flower Boutique voice mail. The shop is currently closed. It's open from 8 A.M. to 9 P.M. but deliveries are actually available until 10 P.M. We can work for receptions, parties and average weddings. Anyway, you can leave us a message!"_**

Kagome winced at the sound of her own voice. She knew Ayame should have done it….

_BEEP._

**_"I know there's still someone there,"_** a hoarse voice spoke, interrupting her thoughts.

Ha! Of course, it had to be _him_. Who else?

**_"I do need a delivery—now. Not tomorrow morning; now. The usual. Hurry up."_**

_BEEP._

Kagome scratched her head in annoyance. She was actually tempted to ignore the message… but once Kaede would have discovered her action, she would be dead. Well, maybe not; the owner was too nice for murder. But she would be upset and, after all, wasn't he their number one customer? If there was someone who prevented the shop from breaking under important firms' pressure, that someone would be him, Inuyasha Takahashi.

_Bah, at least, his office isn't too far from here, _she thought. _And this delivery might mean more gossiping with Ayame…_

Kagome put her purse down and removed her coat before pulling her hair up in a messy ponytail. 'The usual'… Surely, that Takahashi lacked of original ideas.

* * *

Tapping his foot on the elevator floor, he sighed in relief. At least, his floor was deserted. He had made sure that nobody would be working until the wee hours of the morning that night… It wasn't as if his human form was a secret—no; not anymore, but he would feel uneasy if too many people would actually witness the change.

With his hands in his pockets, Inuyasha headed to his office where boring papers were waiting for him. Sometimes, he really hated his job and cursed his father for building the business. However, his life was enviable—or at least, most of its aspects were—so he quickly pushed his thoughts away.

A sudden noise coming from his secretary's office brought him back to reality. The door was actually open and Inuyasha spotted a small figure that was setting a large bouquet on the desk. Realizing that the flowers had arrived and wondering why the deliverer was working in the dark, Inuyasha turned the lights on.

"Gosh, my eyes!" a feminine voice complained.

"Why didn't you turn the lights on in the first place?" he asked, scanning the young woman from behind. "People might mistake you for an intruder…"

"It doesn't take a lifetime to set a bunch of flowers on a desk!" she snapped, turning around. Chocolate orbs were glaring at him.

"Really? Or maybe you didn't know where the light switch was…" he retorted, walking toward the raven-haired woman. "You didn't want to admit you're stupid, did you?" he added.

Her jaw dropped and she quickly grabbed her purse from the desk, muttering something about 'everyone working there being assholes' and ready to leave.

Inuyasha arched an eyebrow and stopped her. "Excuse me, what did you say?"

"I said that it seems like everyone working here are assholes, you deaf moron," she shouted, facing him again.

Was that woman for real? Didn't she know who he was?!

"First, your stupid boss asks me—no, orders me a midnight delivery, then you…"

Ah, obviously not. He was in his human form, after all…

"… and all this fuss over 'the usual'!" she fumed.

"The usual?" he asked, wondering why the wench was in such a horrible mood.

She nodded. "Red roses and a note plainly saying 'Sorry, you know I love you'." She snorted. "I mean, your boss' life is already so cliché; the successful businessman dating the most beautiful and most famous model of Japan… why do his notes have to be so cliché as well?" she wondered aloud. "Bah, it's not like it's going to work anyway."

Now, he was intrigued. "Why?"

Chocolate orbs rolled. "That Kikyo-model might be all looks and no brain, but I doubt she's that stupid. She must have realized that the handwriting on the notes isn't her boyfriend's," she explained. "And she also must be tired of always receiving red roses."

Inuyasha glared at her, even though she was right. "If you're so clever yourself… what would you have done?"

The woman standing in front of him chuckled. "Innovation. The girlfriend is moody so, Takahashi should impress her, change their habits, because she must be frustrated or bored…" she reasoned. "A short phone call, an improvised dinner, an unexpected vacation…" she dreamily listed. "… Not those worn-out bouquets. They're pretty, but I doubt his girlfriend believes in their meaning anymore."

Inuyasha was bewildered and stared at the raven-haired deliverer. With only five minutes, she had insulted him, criticized him and eventually impressed him. As the silence between them was starting to last, he shook his head and cleared his throat, but she spoke first.

"Who knows, maybe she doesn't like flowers… or roses. Yeah, what if she likes orchids…" she continued.

"You don't like flowers?"

She blinked at him before laughing. "I work in a flower shop!" she reminded him. "But I admit having a preference for daisies," she added, slightly smiling.

Inuyasha smiled back. "Thank you," he whispered. "For the delivery, I mean," he quickly added. "No one else is here to thank you, so…"

She scratched her hair, holding her purse close. If he didn't know any better, he would say she was nervous. "Well, the rest is up to Mr. Takahashi's secretary. It seems that it's pretty hard to catch Miss Kikyo…"

He nodded. "Yeah… Thank you again, huh…"

"Kagome. I'm Kagome Higurashi," she introduced herself. "But I have to go, now."

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**Word counts:** 443; 764

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_Last revision: September 24th, 2009. Special thanks to my beta **Lyra** once again for her help and patience. She _is_ one Speedy Gonzales-like beta._


	2. Ride Home

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

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_**Ride Home**_

"Kagome. I'm Kagome Higurashi," she introduced herself. "But I have to go now."

Turning heels, the only thing her mind was screaming was to get the hell out of that office, exit the very building that breathed Inuyasha Takahashi and head back home quickly, and safely. _I'm so stupid,_ she thought, wincing. _Now, this guy will probably tell Takahashi everything I just said; all the good and bad—my, there's nothing good in what I said! _She started to panic. _I'll be fired. He'll call Kaede and I'll be fired because he'll threaten her! It's obvious! _

Kagome bit her lower lip._ He'll tell her something like, "Either you fire her, or I'll close your shop forever and you'll be sleeping in the streets!" And… And then Kaede will have no other choice; __she's__ already so old…_

"Damn, damn, damn…" she mumbled as she headed to the door, mentally cursing her big mouth and Inuyasha Takahashi's business power.

"Wait," the employee's voice stopped her. "Let me give you a ride home."

Kagome looked back at him in bewilderment. "Huh?" That, she hadn't expected.

"It's late and you're all alone, aren't you?" he pointed out before shrugging. "I'm just offering help. Maybe you already have a car…?"

Glancing away from his dark brown eyes, Kagome shook her head negatively. "No, but…"

"Hey, I'm no rapist," he spat.

Her eyes widened. She wasn't thinking about that at all… However, she wasn't really comfortable with the thought of riding home with a stranger. "It's not that," she softly replied, staring at the floor.

"Uh…when I said a ride home, I didn't mean on a motorcycle, relax…"

Facing him back, Kagome laughed and he arched an eyebrow. "It's okay, don't worry; I wasn't thinking about you being a rapist or you giving me a ride home on a motorcycle," she reassured. However, she noticed he was losing his patience as he was tapping his foot on the floor…

"Then what?"

Kagome smiled. "Fine, I accept your offer."

* * *

"So, how long have you been working at the flower shop?" the driver of the amazing-and-damn-expensive Ferrari asked her as they approached the Higurashi Shrine.

Kagome was busy admiring the way the scenery around them was moving so fast while they rode. She looked like a tourist and maybe even worse… she was mimicking a cow in some meadow, watching trains passing by. Horrible. She was really something. "Let me see… Two years, probably… since I'm twenty now," she answered.

He frowned. "You've been working there since you finished high school?"

Kagome nodded and looked back at him. "I've never been very smart and well… I always found flowers interesting."

"How so?"

He turned left.

"They mean what you want them to, their aspect fits your personality as their color fits your mood. They're like your voice when you cannot speak…" she explained. "Rosebuds for a new love… White flowers for a wedding… Orchids, irises, daisies for a date, an anniversary or to apologize…" Kagome traced patterns on her pants material.

Dark brown orbs scanned her small body as she wondered aloud.

"That's why I think that Inuyasha Takahashi is an idiot for always sending red roses to his girlfriend."

Ah, here we go again.

"He seems to be on your mind a lot…" he teased. If she was going to insult him during the whole time they would be spending together…

"Not at all," Kagome retorted.

Man, that hurts.

"He's just our number one customer and well…" she scratched her head, the only thought of Takahashi irritating her. "He's also the only one who gives such little importance to flowers; it seems to me that he doesn't believe in their meaning." She sighed. "He makes me feel like my work is wasted."

Inuyasha gulped. He had never imagined that even his little actions could affect people like this… That, or the girl sitting next to him was really passionate when it came to her job. Anyway, she made him feel guilty—something even his parents or Kikyo had never been able to do. And it frightened him.

Kagome was surprised by his sudden silence and glanced over at him. Indeed, the man was really… beautiful… "How old are you?" she practically whispered.

_Great, now how do you tell her that you're a four hundred and almost seventy years-old half-demon? _His eyes never left the road as he avoided her stare. "I—huh… How old, do you think, is a young and new board director?" he asked, obviously lying about his position.

Kagome hummed. "Early thirties?"

Inuyasha winced. "Make it late twenties…"

She laughed at the new expression on his face. "I take it being thirty years-old makes you feel old."

_Damn human age. _"I'm twenty-eight, okay?"

The raven-haired woman nodded, trying not to laugh again.

As Inuyasha parked his car in front of the shrine steps, Kagome glanced at her watch and noticed that it was already one in the morning. Her mother was probably worried to death… and yet, maybe she was only sleeping.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Inuyasha watched her exit his car and slowly climb the stairs. Kagome suddenly turned heels and, with a bright smile, waved goodbye. Returning her grin, he started the engine and drove away.

She sighed, closing her eyes. Tall, nicely built, tanned skin, long black hair, deep and dark brown eyes… Wow. She had been lucky that night. Surely, she would have a lot of things to talk about with Ayame the following day… This mysterious employee was just—wait a minute…

"I forgot to ask him his name!" blurted out Kagome as she realized how stupid she had been.

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**Word counts:** 347; 628

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_Last revision: September 24th, 2009. Special thanks to my beta **Lyra** once again for her help and patience. She _is_ one Speedy Gonzales-like beta._


	3. Caused Reflexion

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

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_**Caused Reflexion**_

Fingers pressed on his full lips as he blankly stared at his computer screen, Inuyasha Takahashi was still thinking about the same thing—and he had been doing so for half an hour now.

His thoughts painted long raven tresses, passion-filled chocolate eyes and a petite, yet really attractive—he had to admit—body.

_Kagome Higurashi._

The flowers deliverer.

Inuyasha chuckled at the memory of the argument-turned-conversation they had three nights ago. The woman intrigued him like none of the other women he knew actually did. She had clearly told him she wasn't a smart person. She hadn't wished to attend college and to get a degree or any other sort of diploma—no; she had instead decided to work for the old owner of a flower shop. Why? Oh, she simply found flowers interesting.

_Whatever._

However, clever or not, she had been able to prove him—the talented businessman with a doctorate in economics—with only two or three statements how much he messed up with his girlfriend. He would later tell Miroku not to pester him for Doctor Love appointments anymore. Plain Kagome Higurashi had already made him realize how he didn't feel involved in his own relationship. Everything he did regarding Kikyo held no meaning. And you didn't have to be a genius to realize that.

"Hey," called a soft voice as his office door went open, interrupting his messed up thoughts.

A tall woman came in, long and straight ebony hair cascading on her back, her brown eyes staring at him with love. Her clothes were as elegant as ever and the noise her high heels made as she walked towards him was the only thing that could be heard.

"Thanks," she said, after placing a chaste kiss on his right cheek. Giggling at his surprised look, she added, "The irises were really pretty."

"Oh," was his response.

In _fact_, he _had_ tried to make some effort and stopped sending her red roses—mostly since she still didn't want to answer the phone. Inuyasha was kind of relieved to see that she wasn't mad at him anymore—whatever the reason had been that time—but something… he didn't really know what, though… didn't feel right.

Kikyo was sitting on his desk, smiling at him. He gently placed his right hand on her left knee, but looked away, avoiding her gaze.

"I can't stay," she spoke. "My agent wants me to purchase the latest branded outfits, you know… things like that."

Inuyasha nodded.

This time, she kissed him on the lips, caressing the skin of his neck with her knuckles. "But next time, try to write the attached note yourself," she whispered, reminding him about the bouquet he had sent her. "I'd appreciate even more."

He forced himself to smile, staring at her beautiful and flawless face. Kikyo was the only one who made sense, the only one who gave him a reason to avoid drowning himself in his business forever.

However, as soon as she left, he called his secretary. He wasn't really sure about what he was going to do… but he had to do it. Whatever the 'it' was. Curiosity… sudden need? Anyway…. "Yura? Yes. Mind calling Kaede's shop again?… Order another bouquet—_daisies_. Yes…. No; no note. Make sure that Kagome Higurashi delivers it. Yeah. Thanks… Later."

* * *

Kagome sighed, pausing. "… And well, you know… I thought he was just so… handsome."

The wolf demoness sitting on the counter next to her simply continued to chew her bubblegum, barely listening to what she was saying, an eyebrow arched up.

"Are you even listening to me, Ayame?!" asked Kagome, almost snapping.

Said Ayame opened the first drawer below her, parting her legs as she did so, and pulled out her disgusting collection of all-flavors chewed bubblegums—which actually was in a ball form. Kagome winced at the sight of it and went back to her daydreaming.

"It's not that I don't enjoy listening to you, Kagome," her co-worker and friend finally answered, after getting off of the counter. "It's just that I'm telling you; you've been talking about this 'handsomely mysterious' guy for two days now!"

Kagome sighed again. "I'm rambling, is that it?"

Ayame nodded. "And your story sounds like the beginning of a very, very _lame_ love story," she added, patting her human friend's back.

The raven-haired woman stuck her tongue out at her, the two of them oblivious to the phone call the owner of the shop had just ended.

Kaede walked towards the two young women who were more joking around than working—not that they had much to do, actually. The aged woman cleared her throat as to get their attention, before finally speaking, her stare mostly directed to Kagome.

"A bouquet has just been ordered."

The two women groaned. Routine, routine….

"What kind?" asked Ayame, getting ready—which meant stretching as if she had woken up two minutes ago.

"A daisies one."

"Huh?" The wolf demoness suddenly froze in surprise. "That's it? Daisies? And we need to deliver a plain bouquet of daisies? That's some waste in benefits," she stated.

Kaede clapped her hands together so that the young woman would stop complaining, even though she was right. "Come on, come on…" She looked back at Kagome. "You will be delivering it."

"Who is it for?"

"Inuyasha Takahashi," she replied before turning heels, though she was still listening to them.

The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes while Ayame was chuckling. "Kill me already," she muttered.

Her friend elbowed her forearm. "Bah, you might see your mysterious-sexy-ass guy over there."

Kagome's scowl quickly turned into a wide grin. _Hell yeah._

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**Word counts:** 554; 401

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_Last revision: September 24th, 2009. Special thanks to my beta **Lyra** once again for her help and patience. She _is_ one Speedy Gonzales-like beta._


	4. Second Encounter

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

* * *

_**Second Encounter**_

Kagome Higurashi smiled genuinely at the random employees working for Inuyasha Takahashi, since greetings such as "Hey, Kaggy!" or "How are you doing today?" reached her ears several times. After all, hadn't she become a legend—the delivery legend? There had never been a single week during which Kagome wouldn't be seen without a majestic bouquet in her arms, ready to be delivered to either Inuyasha Takahashi or to top-model Kikyo herself—who had to be wasting her time in his office.

However, the very plain bouquet of daisies particularly intrigued one worker, who didn't have to think about it twice before jogging towards the young deliverer. Soon enough, a rather tall woman dressed in black was standing beside Kagome, actually escorting her.

"Daisies, that's all?" she asked, her brown eyes filled with curiosity.

Kagome nodded, smiling. "Surprising, isn't it, Sango?"

There was another reason of why Kagome loved her job. She was always meeting new and interesting people. Sango had been one of them. The brunette was a friendly person and Kagome knew that all too well, for Sango was the only person that would gossip about her boss as much as did Kagome and Ayame. Still, Kagome didn't forget that the very friendly and sweet Sango should never been pissed off for any reasons; especially since she was part of the building security.

"I heard this is their twenty-second break up."

Kagome shook her head negatively. "Twenty-fifth," she corrected, before the two of them started laughing.

"Who knows, maybe these aren't for Kikyo!"

The raven-haired woman shrugged. She couldn't care less. As much as she enjoyed Sango's company, the only thing Kagome wanted badly was for the annoying delivery to finally end so that she could go back to her chatting with Ayame about some dark-haired… Oh, yeah, speaking of that.

"Say, Sango," Kagome changed the topic, "were you working three nights ago?"

The brunette hummed. "No, it was my day—huh, night off," she eventually answered.

"Oh."

Seeing the disappointment on her friend's face, Sango asked, "Why?"

"A delivery," was Kagome's answer. "I was just wondering…" she added after a few seconds, "if you happened to know an employee with jet-black hair and dark brown eyes. He works here…"

_Ah, so, she's actually after some guy._ Sango chuckled. "There are a lot of men working here sharing that features," she replied. "Details, please?"

Kagome tapped her index finger on her chin as they entered the elevator. "Rude—no, scratch that; very rude, cocky and arrogant. But kind enough to give me a ride home."

Sango arched an eyebrow._ Isn't this Inuyasha's perfect portrait?_ She thought about it some more before finally realizing that Kagome was staring at her, waiting for an answer. She forced a smile. "Uh, sorry. I can't think of anyone right now."

Kagome sighed. "Oh well."

Sango stopped at the third floor, muttering explanations about some 'damn lecher'. Kagome had nodded without asking any questions, her mind too caught wondering about her mysterious good-looking guy. It was really a shame that Sango didn't have an idea about whom he could have been, because now all that was left to Kagome was a stupid delivery to a stupid top-businessman and a strong will to go back at Kaede's.

As she neared Inuyasha Takahashi's secretary's desk, she was awfully surprised to see that the petite woman had immediately stood up, waving a hand at her to stop her in her tracks.

"It's nice to see that you're finally here, Kagome."

Blinking, Kagome replied, "It's nice to see you too, Yura. Is there… a problem?"

The aforementioned Yura shook her head, her smile never failing her. "Inuyasha-sama is waiting for you—I mean, your delivery; the bouquet." She pointed at the item, if Kagome ever happened to not understand….

Kagome gulped. This was unexpected. Every time she came, Inuyasha Takahashi would be busy; on a meeting, on the phone, having an important conversation with some snobbish CEO, or with his girlfriend. She had never met him in person and even though she had already seen pictures of him in the newspaper, seeing the boss was something new to her and also something really, really frightening.

It was just as if you had made a habit of making lame jokes about Brad Pitt's sex life with Angelina Jolie and then suddenly meeting him face to face, nose to nose.

It was going to be horrible.

* * *

As soon as he heard the door slam shut, his lips curved into a sadistic smile.

Thanks to his demonic senses, this time, as Kagome Higurashi breathed the same air as he did, Inuyasha could smell her nervousness, the light fear that radiated from her body, and damn, could he smell her scent. It was just purely disgusting, the way it made him lose control. Her scent was new to him and just so natural. Curse the dog in him that was just in love with Mother Nature. Her scent was going to drive him nuts if he were to keep on thinking about it.

"Here's the bouquet, Mr. Takahashi." A light noise clearly told him that she had deposited the flowers on his desk. Another one that she had turned heels, ready to leave him.

"Why, thank you, Miss Higurashi." His low voice interrupted her movements and he felt her body stiffen. Was he really that frightening, or was it because she couldn't see him?

Rotating his armchair, he faced her, honey meeting chocolate, the smirk on his lips contrasting her 'o'-shaped mouth.

Kagome had still her back to him, her head slightly turned in his direction, but as he stood up and rounded his desk, she completely turned around.

"Any suggestions, Kagome?" he finally asked. "Any… recommendations about how I should behave myself with my girlfriend?"

However, Inuyasha quickly understood that she really had no clue about what he was insinuating. Anyway, the expression on her face was too priceless.

She shook her head, mimicking a "no".

"That's too bad."

He sat on his desk, his infamous smirk never leaving his lips. Now, he was going to have some fun.

"I was thinking about writing the note myself," he added. "What do you think?"

Kagome's mouth opened and closed several times before finally throwing out an answer. "Honestly, it's your problem." Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly the answer she should have given him, but, what the… What in the world was he asking her?

Dark brows furrowed and Inuyasha decided to cut playtime short. "Aren't daisies your favorites?" Seeing that Kagome Higurashi wasn't going to answer him, her mind wandering God-knows-where, he added, "Am I wasting your time and work, Miss Higurashi?"

Even a fist would have hurt less. So, the mysterious and good-fucking-looking guy hadn't had anything better to do than sell his soul to the devil before feeding her to the wolves by giving his boss her name, just like a wimpy dickhead would do with the mob-boss that dominated him? Okay, maybe she was exaggerating things, but anger really, really, boiled deep inside of her and couldn't wait to be released. She would show that arrogant jerk dressed in a grey suit where it lead to irritate Kagome Higurashi with stupid hints.

"I'd be wasting my good lines by answering you," she spat, shooting him a glare—one of her best ones, she had to admit.

"You weren't wasting them three nights ago," he retorted.

Kagome scratched her forehead, groaning. "Okay, your ass-kissing employee told you everything, and so what?" she snapped, not caring if she was being rude to a man who was supposedly standing above her, if they ever happened to be ranked by society.

Inuyasha suppressed a chuckle. _You really have no clue, do you?_ "Miss Higurashi—"

"No!" she cut. "Honestly, it's okay. You can go call Kaede-sama, order her to fire me or else you'll destroy her cute little business; I won't make any complaints." _I deserved it,_ she mentally added. There; her number one nightmare would become reality and that would only be a matter of seconds….

This time, Inuyasha really laughed, and to speak frankly, he laughed his ass off. Kagome stared blankly at him, wondering if an illicit substance had made its way through his breakfast that morning or if she had happened to say something funny, like a joke.

Regaining his seriousness, Inuyasha took one last glance at the girl standing in front of him before bending slightly to pick a daisy from the bouquet she had just delivered. Twirling it between his index finger and his thumb, he simply offered, "Let's just go to the cafeteria and order lunch, instead."

"Eh?"

* * *

**Word counts:** 756; 724

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_Last revision: September 24th, 2009. Special thanks to my beta **Lyra** once again for her help and patience. She _is_ one Speedy Gonzales-like beta._


	5. Unexpected Sight

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

* * *

_**Unexpected Sight**_

"I swear, saying that being with you is awful would be an understatement."

Dark violet and bluish eyes narrowed as a faint grin appeared on Miroku's face, curving up his lips. He glanced over at the beautiful woman whom was walking by his side and chuckled. "_You_ came to my office, Sango, or do you happen to have forgotten that part? I also believe you invited me to lunch."

The aforementioned Sango ran her fingers through her dark tresses before returning his grin. "I didn't say I don't enjoy the awfulness of your company—That is," she quickly added as soon as she noticed Inuyasha Takahashi's counselor extend his hand a bit too much, "if you keep your _curse_ to yourself."

"My hand has a mind of its own, fair Sango."

The two co-workers picked their trays before they began to choose their soon-to-be meals.

The cafeteria was kind of empty, for only few people were actually eating. Since it was only half past eleven, most employees were still working, but some others—though they never admitted it—were just disgusted with the food that was served. However, Sango had decided to meet Miroku for lunch at the cafeteria, the first reason being that she was too hungry to go wait in a restaurant and the second one being that she actually missed the lecher. Not to mention that for once, Totosai was the chef, for he worked at the building's cafeteria only twice a week, and not Myoga. The flea demon was a really nice person, Sango couldn't deny it, but his cooking was so horrendous that she swore one single sushi could kill her neighbor's annoying poodle dog. _Hey, I gotta try this one._

Miroku glanced at the brunette next to him once more. Holy Buddha, was she sexy in that black outfit! When he had first laid his eyes on her figure, and that was months and months ago, it really took the best of him to prevent himself from kidnapping her, fly away to Russia and pull down his pants. However, when Inuyasha informed him that he had just hired the woman as a new security guard, for Sango had four black-belts in four types of martial arts, Miroku immediately threw his plan out of the window. He had been intimidated and his male ego was pretty bruised, but Sango was still a woman—a woman with a wonderful butt, and when this very vixen had invited him to lunch, he felt as if his failed tactics to seduce her weren't _that_ wasted in the end.

"Hey," he heard her whisper. "Is it me, or our boss is having lunch with _another_ woman than Barbie-Kikyo?"

Arching an eyebrow, Miroku attempted to laugh, but Sango quickly covered his mouth with one hand. Drawing Inuyasha's attention to them wasn't a good plan. The dark-haired man followed the brunette's stare, only to see that she hadn't been joking.

One thing was for sure; the woman Inuyasha was eating with was nothing near a top model, unless faded jeans, non-ironed shirts and worn-out loafers were the fashion revelation of the season. Add to the I'm-too-late-to-check-my-outfit style a messy and thick raven mane and your conclusion would be that Inuyasha's date was definitely not a fashion icon.

"Oh!" suddenly interjected Sango. "It's Kagome!"

"You know her?" Now, things could get interesting.

Sango nodded. "She's the one who delivers Inuyasha's bouquets for Kikyo every time they break up."

_This means spying-plan, _Miroku's eyes widened as the brightest idea of the week made its way through his brain cells. "Is this some kind of 'ditch-Juliet-for-the-messenger' scenario?" he eventually asked.

Sango's lips twitched in disgust. "Isn't Friar Lawrence the messenger?" The sudden dig-up-corpse face her companion made let her guess what sort of _things_ Miroku had imagined. Looking back at the unexpected couple she had spotted, cinnamon eyes narrowed, ready to catch any compromising behavior. Maybe it was time for her boss to finally let go of the moody superstar; not that she was tired of gossiping about them, mind you, but her plain Kagome getting closer to her cocky boss was something she would really like to chat about… Especially because _then_, she would have a great access to every _detail_.

And what was that? Kagome, _giggling_?

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**Word count:** 724

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_Last revision: September 24th, 2009. Special thanks to my beta **Lyra** once again for her help and patience. She _is_ one Speedy Gonzales-like beta._


	6. Third Impressions

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

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_**Third Impressions**_

Inuyasha watched the girl eating in front of him with an amazing interest. Not that he didn't like Totosai's cooking—the old coot was obviously a better cook than the flea Myoga, but he still couldn't stomach it. However, Kagome seemed to enjoy her meal as if it were her last one. Inuyasha really started to wonder why he didn't invite her to a restaurant_—that would have been weird; this is not a fucking date._

"Wha'?" asked Kagome, her mouth full and slightly embarrassed to have a CEO staring at her while she… devoured her beefsteak.

The half-demon shrugged, an apparent smile tugging on his lips. "This food isn't as good as one would believe by simply looking at you while you…"

She swallowed. "While I what?" She blushed. "Do I really look that horrible?" Before Inuyasha could find a line that fitted with her sudden and unexpected question, Kagome shook her head, as if to cast away any slight embarrass. "Who cares, though," she added.

Inuyasha was left speechless. Chuckling, he watched her finish her rice, unaware of the two pairs of intrigued eyes that were glued to him as well.

"This was wonderful!" complimented Kagome, putting down her glass of water.

"You really are some kind of girl."

She grinned. "Am I?"

Inuyasha leaned forward, his hand reaching out to wipe some rice that was left on the corner of her lips. His fingers brushed against the soft skin of her face and he finally smiled; "You are," he whispered.

Chocolate orbs blinked tremendously as she stared at the half-demon standing only a few inches apart from her. Kagome could almost feel his breathing falling on her face and the said feeling could only be awkward. "I am," she eventually whispered back before giggling as he sat back on his chair.

After a moment of silence that seemed to last forever, Inuyasha asked, "So, do you always eat with such enthusiasm, or did you just find the cafeteria's plastic-like meals ecstatic?"

"Well, I'm sure a lot of little African kids would love your chef's cooking rather than starve," she answered. "But I think you must tell that to yourself a lot while signing a check that promises a generous amount of money—that's called a donation, by the way," she coldly added, clearly implying that he never sent money for the suffering children living in poorer countries.

Dark brows furrowed and Inuyasha found it hard to control his temper. "It's really selfless from you to think about those starving kids, Kagome, but do you happen to make any donation?"

"If I were you, I would."

"Don't you worry, I am not a tight-fisted bastard," he retorted, grinding his teeth. "And whatever your excuses may be, I am sure you haven't that much trouble making ends meet."

Kagome's jaw dropped, her mind going blank as no reply formed in her head. She was unable to prove him he was wrong, especially since he wasn't. She couldn't really tell why she had suddenly accused him of being a person he apparently was far from, and Kagome suddenly felt ridiculous.

"Tell me, Kagome," he finally spoke. "Why do you always seem to switch to an aggressive mode every time it comes to me?" bluntly asked Inuyasha, his arms crossed on his chest.

Why, indeed? The raven-haired deliverer stared at her empty plate, wondering what she should be answering him. Should she bring up her wasted work again? Should she tell him how his life, that was completely the opposite of hers, unnerved her? Should she tell him that maybe, it would be better for him to break up definitely with his top-Barbie toy and send her a whole garden of flowers as a goodbye gift, instead of putting up with this never ending charade?

Frowning and avoiding his question, Kagome pointed out, "Stop calling me by my first name; I don't call you Inuyasha and that's because we don't know each other."

"Then go on, call me Inuyasha!" he exclaimed. "We shared a meal, that's a start, isn't it?"

Both of them suddenly stared into each other's eyes, soon realizing how weird his last question sounded. _That seemed better in my head and it should have stayed there._ Gulping, Inuyasha quickly looked away. _What in the seven hells am I doing?_ The wench sitting with him made him say things he never thought he could tell to anyone. He had never given a shit about what people thought about him and yet, the fact that this girl believed he was only some arrogant bastard and nothing more caused him to flinch. She was only a delivery wench! A fucking delivery wench who fucking delivered flowers for his fucking girlfriend… His eyes widened._ Kikyo… Did I really forget about her this whole time?_

"Do you mind some company?" a third voice interrupted his thoughts.

Glancing at the couple that had just arrived, Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Two thumbs-up for Miroku and his perfect timing!

"How is the food, Kagome?" asked Sango, deposing her tray on the table.

Kagome shrugged and though she knew she could be oblivious to a lot of things—no kidding, she could easily read her friend's expression. The brunette was forcing an angelic aura to emanate from her, as if she could hide the obvious question that was floating in her mind and scrolling on her eyes; _what the _hell_ is going on here, Kaggy-_sweetie_?_

"I'm done here." Grabbing her tray, Kagome left the table without even glancing at Inuyasha. She had a job to get back to, not to mention that she had been quite disappointed in her mysterious employee. She should call it a day and go home.

Miroku's dark eyes watched the young woman as she walked away and eventually looked back at Inuyasha, who still had his arms crossed and who was tapping his index finger on his biceps, annoyed as ever. "I take it your date went wrong?"

Bad move, Miroku.

Inuyasha abruptly stood up, glaring at his supposed friend and roared, "A _date_? Did I hear you well? A _date_?" He scoffed. "This wasn't a fucking date; it was Hell with a capital H!"

"It surely didn't look as Hell when you brushed you fingers—" The rest of the sentence was hushed by Sango's hand on Miroku's lips, preventing him from a horrible death and them from being busted. The last thing she wanted was a storming Inuyasha after hearing that two of his employees were spying on him—not that they did it on purpose… and not that they were actually afraid of him, mind you.

Hopefully, their boss quickly made his way out of the cafeteria, mumbling incomprehensible things. Sango released her dearest lecher, whose heart was still beating fast from all the growling the half-demon had just made.

Recollecting his thoughts, Miroku smiled, staring at his beloved Sango. "Let's eat, shall we?"

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**Word count:** 1,179

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_Last revision: September 24th, 2009. Special thanks to my beta **Lyra** once again for her help and patience. She _is_ one Speedy Gonzales-like beta._


	7. Deliverer in Shining Armor, or not

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

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_**Deliverer in Shining Armor, or not**_

Furious.

There was no other word to describe Kagome Higurashi at that moment.

She couldn't tell exactly if she was actually mad with herself, that obnoxious CEO, or the two idiots who had thought that eating with them would have been a good idea.

No, scratch that; Kagome wasn't mad at Sango. She didn't even know the reason why she had lost her temper. After all, Takahashi was just being nice, offering her a meal, and he surely wasn't the one who kissed his boss' ass by telling this very boss everything she had happened to say out of the blue… No, that was her mysterious-sexy-ass guy. Bah, not that she could really blame him; they didn't know each other so it was natural that his boss came before her.

Kagome Higurashi definitely didn't know why, or whom she was mad at.

She was nearing the exit when it happened.

Boxes, a lot of boxes—maybe six or seven—dropped on her petite body as rain would have poured on her.

"What the hell—?"

The contents splashed all around her, and Kagome covered her head with her arms, even though she was surprised to see that the boxes were carrying several objects such as vases, miniatures of sculptures, paintings… Mortified, Kagome crouched down and began to pick up the broken pieces of these apparent artworks, then finally realized that someone had been talking to her.

Looking up, she met the vibrant—but also dumb—stare of a young man and she guessed that he couldn't be much older than herself. He stuttered something about 'taking care of the mess he made' and helped her stand up, apologizing at least a dozen times, and Kagome noticed the beautiful blue eyes behind his brownish bangs.

"I'm Hojo," he muttered, letting her wonder how someone that wanted to appear as self-confident could have trouble speaking—or more likely, talking to her.

"I'm Kagome," she said back. "Are you…" she began, only to be cut by Hojo.

"… the delivery boy? Yes." Did he just blush?

She chuckled. "I guess you could say I'm the delivery girl!"

And Hojo knew they were a match made in heaven.

He started to grab her hands, ready to invite her on a date, when he heard it: the _roaring_ of a very pissed-off…

"You're fired! No, forget it, you're dead. You have no future. I'll make sure that no one will ever hire you!"

Blue met golden and Hojo's knees began to shake. Wasn't Inuyasha Takahashi the one who was supposed to receive the delivery, after all?

Kagome's fury came up again as soon as his voice reached her ears, but most of all, she couldn't believe what he was saying. That was abuse of power, damn it!

She took a step towards him, not noticing that by doing so she broke another painting, and pushed him, her index finger pressed on his chest, under the bewildered stare of Hojo.

"You can't possibly do that!" she yelled. "It was an accident!"

Inuyasha didn't seem to listen to her as he stared at her heels planted on his mother's portrait. "Why, you bitch…"

Her eyes widened. "Excuse me?!"

He glared down at her, and at that exact moment, he knew that even if he called her every name in the book, it wouldn't make him feel better. Inuyasha couldn't find any answers to spit in her face, as she stood there, in front of him, fury in her eyes and pride on her features. "Why don't you just go to hell with your boyfriend?" he murmured, venom in his voice.

"I—_What?_" How could she possibly reply when he looked at her with such hatred—or was it hurt?—in his eyes…. She was definitely missing something, but what, she couldn't tell.

Throwing in his two cents, Hojo began, "Sorry, but this is my fault so—"

"Shut the _fuck_ up!"

"Shut up!"

At their simultaneous orders, Hojo backed off before slowly grabbing a box so that he could collect some of the broken objects lying on the floor.

"Don't touch anything," growled Inuyasha, never stopping to stare in Kagome's chocolate eyes. He could see the way she was looking at him, scanning his face and hoping to know what was happening—what he was thinking about, and why he was so upset. But he didn't want her to know. "Well? Did I stutter? I told you to go to hell, Kagome Higurashi."

Kagome felt her throat tighten, as if someone was trying to strangle her. "Screw you, Inuyasha Takahashi. I hope your life will be the saddest one on Earth," she murmured before they both parted ways.

Still crouched on the floor, Hojo stared at what was left of his delivery. Still holding one box, he looked down, sighing as he read the aristocratic handwriting that had tagged it.

**_'Izayoi Takahashi's.'_**

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**Word count:** 824

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_Last revision: September 5__th__, 2009. Special thanks to __**Jusenkyo**__, for her help with the whole revision process; you're one of the best._


	8. Reasons to Apologize for

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

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_**Reasons to Apologize for**_

**_"Did you even hear a single word of what I've been saying, half-breed?"_**

The term employed by his brother to define him was enough for Inuyasha to snap out of his daydreaming. Reverting his gaze back to his computer and clutching his phone tightly, he answered, "Sorry, you were saying, _bastard_?" He swore he heard a sigh—something he wouldn't even try to point out, as sighing was too much of a human habit for that Sesshomaru.

**_"I said I should have brought your mother's belongings myself,"_** repeated the dog demon, standing on the other end of the line.

"Is that an apology?"

**_"It is a statement." _**Not wanting to waste an eternity discussing the matter that was currently bothered his half-brother and having more interesting things to do—like gathering more information about that Rin girl from the café, as if he had suddenly become a secret agent on a special mission—Sesshomaru added, "Listen, half-breed, I'll have someone showing up at your office by tomorrow morning to pick up and fix your mother's things."

Inuyasha had to admit that somehow his asshole of a brother had known how to reassure him—slightly.

**_"And now leave me the hell alone." _**

Okay, scratch that; the bastard was still a bastard, a selfish prick and—or should he say 'but'?—his fucking brother who would actually _help_ him out.

He couldn't stand to look at his defunct mother's portrait with it being completely ruined, thanks to all the stepping-on that had marked it up earlier.

**_"And you better have that useless delivery boy fired."_**

_He will be,_ mentally replied Inuyasha while listening to the dial tone. Hanging up, he knew he wouldn't actually do it. Why? Well, the answer was simple. And clean.

Kagome.

How he hated being so… _Whipped? No,_ subdued _is the right word._ Just because she couldn't stand the fact that with a single phone call he could have Hobo-guy fired and permanently unemployed—though that would imply several phone calls—didn't mean that he shouldn't do it! He had destroyed his mother's most cherished artworks and not to mention her portrait! That Homo-fucker should be dead by now.

And goddammit… He had also been hitting on Kagome. That piece of shit of a delivery boy.

Was she blind? Inuyasha didn't know what to think anymore. She had defended the guy without thinking about it twice. She had stood up for him when he was wrong—at least, in Inuyasha's opinion… What if Kagome actually liked smelly-Homo too? _Nonsense. Fucking nonsense._ And why should he care anyway?

Picking up the phone again, he dialed Kikyo's number—Kikyo's _manager's_ number, and waited. That was enough Kagome-thinking for the day.

An annoyed and tired voice greeted him, _**"Inuyasha."**_

"Put Kikyo on the phone," he ordered, tapping his fingers on his desk.

**_"No. That's definitely out of question. She's in the middle of an interview."_**

"Abi, don't be a bitch, okay? Put my girlfriend on the phone."

**_"Go screw yourself Inuyasha. Or go play with your right hand—I don't know, but leave Kikyo alone. You'll hear from her later today."_**

Ignoring her insults Inuyasha replied, trying to sound calm, "Guess what? It's already six p.m. Maybe it's time to ask your husband to offer you a watch, because it's time to call it a day."

**_"Inuyasha, I said no. Kikyo will call you later." _**He heard her sigh. _**"The least I can do is to take your message—as long as it's not something mushy or nasty."**_

Inuyasha winced. "Just tell her…" _What? That you love her? Or that you offered a meal to another female? _"Tell her to think about a place… a country she would like to visit."

_**"What for?"**_ Abi sounded surprised and awfully suspicious.

"Vacation."

**_"Inuyasha, Kikyo's schedule—"_**

"You can shove it up your tight ass!" he cut abruptly. "Just tell her, okay?" The half-demon hung up, running his hands through his silver bangs, exhaling deeply. He didn't need to hear it. He didn't need that bitch to remind him that his girlfriend was a ghost, and that he barely got to see her.

He didn't want to face reality; that his somewhat private life was entirely fucked up.

Inuyasha didn't want any more reasons to start looking for a new way to brighten up his miserable existence.

* * *

"No, no, no! What the hell are you doing… Damn! Move on, boy! What do you care about Camille? She's your _ex_! Isn't Temperance more important?"

Kagome swallowed another spoon of ice-cream—that apple-crumble flavor thing was definitely worth the exorbitant price of her Häagen-Dazs—while screaming at a rerun of Bones on TV. She absolutely hated all the drama that was made thanks to that indecisive moron that was Booth. _Why can't people just admit their infatuation and be over with it?_

Grabbing the remote, she flipped to another channel and another rerun was being broadcast—Grey's this time. Where had all the Japanese dramas gone? And the soap operas? There was really nothing fun to watch that night. Kagome turned the TV off, not wanting to get her nerves all worked up watching impotent characters with sticks shoved up their asses who couldn't handle their love lives.

_Like you're one to talk,__ Miss Know-It-All. You don't even _have_ a love life._

Well if her mysterious, dark-haired guy hadn't been revealed as a whipped employee, maybe she would have had a semblance of a love life. Yeah, she would have. She would have asked him his number—asking him his name first wasn't a bad idea either—and then she would have called him later that night and… _Wait, isn't the guy supposed to do all of these things?_

Groaning, Kagome swallowed some more ice-cream. Reality was hard to admit. Had he wanted to see her again, he would have asked for her name. For her number. He wouldn't have kissed Takahashi's ass. And who knows… Perhaps he already had a girlfriend? Or… he could be gay. Was he also hitting on Takahashi?

_Gross. And anyway, who would want to date you? Think about renewing your wardrobe first and then you can start flirting with guys._ A new haircut wasn't a bad idea either.

Yes, Kagome Higurashi had still a long way to go.

She lazily stood up, heading for the kitchen to put the leftovers of her melted ice-cream in the refrigerator. Once that was done, Kagome yawned, scratching her head before she nearly screamed in surprise when her obese cat started rubbing itself on her legs, yawning as well.

Like master, like pet.

As her cellphone suddenly started ringing, Kagome rushed upstairs and nearly threw herself on her bed once in her room, ready for some action and adventure in her horrendously boring existence. Flipping the device open, she greeted her friend on the other line. "Sango!"

**_"You actually glanced at the caller's ID before answering! That's some progress."_**

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Did you call me just to make fun of me?" She heard her friend chuckle.

**_"So, how was hell?"_**

"Huh…?"

More chuckling. _**"Well, you see, everybody at work was talking about that spat between you and Inuyasha and he gently sent you to hell, didn't he?"**_

Oh! That. "And…?"

**_"And I wanted some details, even though Miroku kind of filled me in already… But that was only his point of view so—"_**

"Miroku saw it all?" cut Kagome, surprised, but also a bit ashamed… or embarrassed? She never liked it when people watched her losing her temper. She knew she had to look ridiculous. Hysteric. A witch.

**_"Well,_ yeah…"** Sango's voice trailed off.

The raven-haired girl sighed heavily. "Listen, the guy was being an asshole as always. He overreacted because of some stuff the delivery boy dropped while bumping into me and it almost looked like someone had just shot his dog before him. To top it all, he treated me like shit."

_**"A painting of his mother is ruined,"**_ tried to explain the brunette, not feeling at ease with Kagome's sudden anger.

Well? Hadn't she already told her it had been a mistake? "But Hojo and I—"

**_"You stepped on it, Kagome."_**

That was enough to shut her up. Did she, really…? No, there was no way in hell she was going to feel guilty. With all the money the Takahashi family had, they could definitely ask for an artist to paint another portrait of Inuyasha's mother; or was it _really_ not possible?

On the other hand, Sango preferred not to mention the death of Izayoi Takahashi. If Kagome really wanted to apologize, she didn't have to do it out of pity. Not that she was totally at fault either; Inuyasha had bad-mouthed her, even though he bad-mouths everyone, but Kagome could understand what it was like, to lose a parent. She could understand him. Anyhow, they didn't quite know each other, so why bother?

The two girls eventually ended up gossiping, as always, and Sango told her that Yura heard her boss talking about some 'programmed vacation' with his model girlfriend Kikyo. Of course, Kagome couldn't ask for more; she wouldn't have to do silly deliveries for a while, once the two of them would be gone.

"There's no way I'll deliver anything to Hawaii!"

**_"Actually, Yura thinks they might fly to Taipei."_**

Topics such as Ayame and her sex-crazed boyfriend, Miroku's flirting, and Kagome's gorgeous-turned-whipped employee were enough to entertain the two friends during a whole hour, until Sango almost collapsed on her phone.

Kagome shut her cellphone and was about to call it a night when a soft knocking on her door interrupted her while changing into her pajamas. The door was opened and her mother smiled. The raven-haired girl grinned back and jumped in her bed, as if she was still a young teenager.

"I take it you already ate and everything is all right?" her mother's soft voice asked.

Kagome nodded and sent her tired mother to bed. Her mother… _His mother. His mother's portrait…_

Had she really upset him that much? She had to admit that she hadn't been totally fair earlier that day… She had defended Hojo since he hadn't done anything on purpose, but if she had only taken a better look at what had been broken and ruined, which all held sentimental value, then perhaps she wouldn't have yelled at him. Scratch that, she still would have done it, but maybe not that much.

Sighing, Kagome slowly drifted to sleep, still thinking of that asshole that would be on a romantic trip with his beautiful girlfriend.

_I'm sorry, Inuyasha._

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**Word counts:** 734; 1,059

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_Last revision: September 5__th__, 2009. Special thanks to __**Jusenkyo**__, for her help with the whole revision process; you're one of the best._


	9. Backfired Plans, Tasty Breakfast

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

* * *

_**Backfired Plans, Tasty Breakfast**_

"You sure you didn't forget anything at home, love?" Kikyo's soft voice asked as they entered Narita airport. "Although it may be too late to go back…"

Inuyasha shook his head, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry, the only thing I left behind is trouble. Let's not think about that, though," he said, encircling his girlfriend's waist with his right arm and hating himself as soon as those words left his mouth. Even though he had been saying nothing but the truth, he felt as if he had been lying.

Kikyo placed her hand on his and a smile graced her lips as she played with the ring on his third finger. That didn't go unnoticed by Inuyasha.

"What's so funny?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Nothing, really. I just remembered what you told me about this ring; how your father had offered it to Izayoi and how she decided to wear it as a pendant since it was too large for her slender fingers," she answered.

Right. It had been two weeks since the incident with his mother's belongings. As promised, Sesshomaru had sent a little toad demon—much to Inuyasha's disgust—to retrieve that Hobo's mess, and, within three days, most of the damage had been repaired. Even Izayoi's portrait had been restored. Inuyasha didn't ask how Sesshomaru had managed to get all of that done, but surely he realized that his half-brother's guilt could be pretty useful. Eventually, Inuyasha had thanked him and made an effort to invite him to dinner—he still shuddered at the thought of it—and Sesshomaru accepted, to his surprise. But this surprised state didn't last long as the full dog demon added a natural, _"Thanks to_ you_ for paying the restaurant where I'll take my date tonight."_

Not to mention that whoever ate with Sesshomaru that night had the appetite of an elephant. Ha! Fluffy had to be dating a big fat cow. _That's what you get for all eating with _my_ money, bastard._

Technically, that also meant that it had been two weeks since he last saw the Higurashi girl. Funny how he could remember her last name after two weeks, but not her first. What was it again? Kaname? Kogane? Ayame? Inuyasha shrugged. What mattered now was the promising holiday in Taipei. Kikyo, Taiwan… Was there anything else to ask for? Especially when Abi had been such a bitch with the whole 'Kikyo's schedule!' thing. It had been hard to convince her and even harder to report his girlfriend's interviews and photo shoots; but in the end, he had won.

Yet why was he feeling so shitty? Three weeks ago he would have been dying to hold Kikyo in his arms the way he was now.

Yeah.

Three weeks ago.

And he wasn't even feeling satisfied.

Inuyasha's ears twitched as his flight was announced. They would be leaving soon… Within an hour he would be sitting his gold-plated ass on a first-class_—Damn, that rhymed!—_seat.

_No, no, no, no, no. I can't leave. Not now._

It had to be his workaholic side. There was no other explanation.

"Inuyasha?" Kikyo softly called, a concerned look on her beautiful face. "Is everything okay? Your face is so pale…"

"I'm okay, don't worry… really…" He patted her shoulder to back up his words.

And bloody hell how he was relieved to feel his cell phone suddenly vibrate. In no time, he reached for the device and flipped it open, not even glancing at the caller's ID. It could have been Fluffy or his old baba of a neighbor, for all he cared.

"Good morning, Yura! How's your mother? Still dating your ex?" he blabbed before mouthing the words, "Work, gotta take this call!" to Kikyo who was already sighing, disappointed.

Once he was out of hearing range, Inuyasha allowed himself to relax and frowned as he heard a masculine voice answering him. Well, okay, his secretary wasn't the one calling him. Maybe his work wouldn't save him right then.

Or would it?

**_"Yura's mother dates Yura's ex?!"_** an over-shocked Miroku yelled into the phone, causing the half-demon to wince.

"Miroku…" he muttered.

**_"Oh, I get it, I get it! This is our new super-secret code that means you need help because you're having trouble with ladies…"_**

Inuyasha's jaw twitched. "I'm not your 'super' buddy. Now, please tell me I'm needed at work."

**_"So, I was right."_**

"Totally."

**_"You're needed—not that much, actually, but Hiten asked for your presence at a meeting this afternoon."_**

Inuyasha's ears twitched. This wasn't a joke, was it? "Tell Hiten I love him."

**_"Seriously?"_**

"No." Before Miroku could say anything, he added, "I'll be there."

As soon as he hung up, Kikyo approached him and Inuyasha could tell, and most of all, smell that she was upset. He didn't like it. He honestly felt bad for what he had just done, and remorse was already eating him from inside. He had acted impulsively and now Kikyo was standing in front of him with that pair of big brown eyes, silently pleading him not to tell her bad news.

But she already knew.

"We're not going to Taipei, are we?" she murmured.

Inuyasha gulped, and after shoving his cell phone in his pocket, he placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes searching for her depressed gaze. He had done that. He had made her unhappy. "Kikyo, apparently, Hiten really needs me this afternoon. An important meeting is scheduled and…"

She cut him off, nodding. "Okay."

_"Okay?" How can she be okay with what I'm telling her?_ But Inuyasha knew that she wouldn't admit how much she hated him at that moment. _Maybe I can call Miroku back and tell him to forget it, that I'm going to Taipei and—_

"It's okay, Inuyasha," Kikyo insisted. "I'm not mad. It was to be expected after all."

So, he was that predictable, wasn't he?

Inuyasha leaned forward, briefly kissing her. "Hey," he whispered. "You still deserve and need this vacation," he said, his thumb caressing her cheek. "That's why you'll go. Perhaps I'll be able to catch another flight and we'll meet there. How does it sound?"

_Sounds like a lie,_ his conscience answered.

Kikyo gave him a faint smile and by the way her eyes were sadly shining, he could tell that she wanted to cry. But she wouldn't, as always. "Sounds good."

"Sounds good," he repeated, smiling back.

She hadn't wanted him to accompany her to the gate, nor to see her leaving. It didn't surprise him though; Kikyo had always been the solitary type of girl. She always acted as if she didn't need his presence, as if she didn't need him. But he could see that it wasn't the case. She had wanted to cry, and he would have comforted her if she hadn't just turned heels, waving goodbye. In all honesty, he wasn't going to blame her. After all, he had just sent her on a lonely trip to Taiwan.

By the time he was back in town, Inuyasha cursed at the traffic blocking his way to his office. It was ten in the morning for God's sake; why did it seem like everyone had just woken up to go to work? Coffee. He needed coffee. When his need became more and more urgent, Inuyasha parked his car as soon as he spotted a small café.

_Caffeine, here I come!_

* * *

"Your change, Miss."

"Thank you."

Kagome Higurashi sat a small table, newspaper in her right hand. She wasn't actually one to read those things; she never understood all the fuss that was made about politics, economics or even worse… sports. However, Kaede had called her earlier that morning and asked her to buy one since Ayame had forgotten to do so. Kagome had agreed, of course, but not without requesting some free time for a quick breakfast. The truth was that she had slept in. Borrowing some more time wasn't a crime, was it?

Kagome sipped her hot mocha coffee. She wasn't used to the bitter taste yet, especially since Mama always made tea at home, but she had to admit that it wasn't bad or disgusting. And if it could keep her awake…

A new customer entered the café, making the bell hanging above the entrance door ring and Kagome look up. Long silver hair occupied her sight and Kagome swallowed hard. As he paid for a slice of cake, she saw furry dog ears twitch when the woman who had served her earlier talked to him, probably telling him how much he had to pay.

_Inuyasha Takahashi._ What the hell was he doing in this café? Kagome had heard from Sango that her boss would be on a 'romantic vacation' with his doll.

First choice: Ignore the asshole. Second choice: Remember that you owe him an apology.

Right. Thanks to Sango she had been feeling guilty for a whole week. Unfortunately, he hadn't called for a single delivery during the past two weeks, which was relieving for Kagome, but that had also screwed her chances to apologize. Gathering up some courage and taking her mug with her, Kagome walked towards him slowly, hoping for some miracle to happen—like him not being mad at her, no, not at all, or him suddenly disappearing in the air. _That would be cool. A black-hole should suddenly open beneath his feet, swallow him and I wouldn't have to do this. Apologizing to his grave—even though there will be no corpse—would be a lot easier. A stone cannot insult me._

"Hello," she said in a soft manner. Kagome saw him frown and he glanced over at her. Odd. He didn't yell at her.

"Oh," he eventually said. "Hi, Kogane."

Kagome blinked. Did he mistake her for someone else or something? "Huh… Say, I… Huh…"

"Hmm?" He handed some money to the cashier.

"I wanted to apologize," she finally said. "For stepping on your mother's portrait."

Inuyasha stiffened. He hadn't wanted to remember that; definitely not. Turning to face her, he glared down at the petite woman whose fingers were tapping on her newspaper. "Listen, Kaname," he started, once again calling her by a name that wasn't hers, "why don't you just get lost and leave me the fuck alone?" Surprisingly, he didn't raise his voice. "You don't need to apologize for that, because I don't care about forgiving you."

Maybe that hurt. A bit too much.

Kagome opened her mouth to retort, but Inuyasha was faster.

"Everything has been taken care of and you should be glad I didn't ask for your Homo boyfriend to be fired," the half-demon added. "Now, Ayame, move on with your life and don't ruin my whole day."

The raven-haired girl's mind went blank. She had expected him to be mad; hell, she had expected him to shout at her, even to make fun of her, to laugh in her face and then to finally accept her apology. But this man, this _half-demon_, this _arrogant CEO_ had been calm, collected, and also extremely cold as he had spoken to her. Inuyasha Takahashi hadn't lost his temper, no sir. And that meant that he truly didn't give a damn about her and her attempt at apologizing.

Tears of anger and frustration were burning Kagome's eyes, and the young woman clutched the newspaper in her hands before hitting him on the chest with it. "First of all, my name isn't Kogane." _Hit_. "It isn't Kaname either." _Hit_. "And for sure it isn't Ayame!" _Hit, hit, hit._

Inuyasha was forced to step back as she continued to attack him with the printed face of Korea's prime minister.

"It's Kagome, damn it!" She was now slapping his shoulder with it. "And I meant it when I apologized, you insensitive little prick!"

Kagome was now breathing hard and the tears in her eyes were obvious, even though she struggled against her need to cry. Inuyasha's face leaned forward, wondering what it was with women not wanting to shed tears in front of him, especially when he was the one who had caused them—shouldn't crying be their best weapon? Shouldn't they try to make him feel guilty?

"Hey," he whispered. "Are you done hitting me? Not to mention that Korea's prime minister's face on my suit is nothing near fashion."

"Why you!"

Kagome pushed him away from her and the next thing Inuyasha knew was the smell of coffee all over him, and the hot liquid dripping from his face.

"Is that somewhere near fashion?!" he heard her yell while exiting the shop under the bewildered stare of the other customers.

_I'm done with caffeine._

* * *

**Word counts:** 1,264; 895

_

* * *

_

_Last revision: September 30th, 2009. Special thanks to **Jusenkyo**, for her help with the whole revision process; you're one of the best._


	10. Prank Call

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

* * *

_**Prank Call**_

"Shit," mumbled Kagome as she stumbled over her own foot.

It had been a bad week. An awful one. A tremendously awful week.

First, there was that day when she dropped her freshly bought sandwich on the dirty pavement thanks to whoever-the-idiot-was that had bumped into her. Then, there was that other day when the ATM decided to eat her debit card, which meant no cash, and no cash meant no taxi, and no taxi meant a nice fifty minute walk back home. The great news had been that Mr. Taka-baka had decided to go on a romantic vacation with Miss-Barbie-met-Ken; well, that _had_ been great news until the following day…

Exhausted from the never-ending walk in the cold weather of December, she had slept in. Fortunately, Kaede hadn't been mad at all and had instead requested her usual newspaper, since Ayame had forgotten to buy it. And that was then she saw _him_ again. The jerk couldn't have stayed in Taipei, huh? _Five_ minutes. Five minutes with him and she had been called wrong names, insulted _and_ rejected—actually, her _apologies_ had been rejected. It wasn't like she had confessed her love or something. _Yuck, what an idea._

To top it all, Ayame had announced that she was herself going on a 'romantic vacation.' The hell? What kind of romantic vacation was it to travel to Amsterdam with her sex-crazed boyfriend to 'enjoy the European nightlife'?

Kagome slammed the door shut behind her, ignoring her younger brother's protests—thankfully, Grandpa was already half-deaf—and marched to her room. When Ayame would come back, she'd be the one going on a vacation. A solitary one, maybe, but she would go. Who knew that working alone in that old shop could be so tiring at the end of the day? Technically, she wasn't really alone, but honestly, she couldn't count on the old owner's help.

Collapsing on her bed, Kagome listened to her cat's purring as it joined her. When it made itself comfortable on her back, she winced. _Buyo really needs a diet, there's no point in denying it. Maybe I could even support him by following one too? _She nodded in her pillow. _Why not, why not._

As Koda Kumi's latest single began to play, Kagome grimaced, cursing her best friend for changing her ringtone days ago. She absolutely loathed Koda Kumi. The young woman reached for her pocket, taking her time answering. Whoever it may be, they could wait a few seconds. She was tired, for God's sake!

"Yeah…" was the muffled response. Kagome frowned at the silence that greeted her. "Hello?" she groaned.

Still no answer.

Kagome could perfectly hear the noise of someone breathing, and that's what irritated her the most. "Listen, if this is a joke, let me tell you that it's not funny. Not at all," she said grumpily. "So, either you tell me who the hell you are, or you can hang up and stop wasting my time." To be sure that the person she was lamely sending to hell wasn't one someone she actually knew, Kagome moved her cellphone away from her ear and glanced at the caller's ID.

_'Unknown.'_

Well, at least that much is clear. "I'm hanging up now, so—" she hastily said.

**_"Wait,"_** a man's voice suddenly cut._** "Wait,"**_ he repeated.

"Who's this?" asked Kagome, sitting up.

_**"It's me."**_

"_Me_?" She scoffed. "Anyone could be 'me'… I mean, you—I mean… Oh, forget it!" exclaimed Kagome, shaking her head. "Who are you?" she prompted. She heard her caller sigh.

**_"It's _me_, Inuyasha. Inuyasha Takahashi."_**

Kagome's jaw dropped and all of her lame retorts died in her throat. What? Why? How…? This was not happening. Her biggest nightmare _wasn't_ calling her. A million questions bombarded her mind but none of them could actually escape her mouth. Thank God she was already sitting, or she would have landed on her butt two seconds ago.

**_"Kagome?"_** he softly called.

And that was enough to bring her back to reality.

"Oh, great! Kudos, Takahashi. You finally managed to remember my name. Who told you that it wasn't Kaname, nor Kogane?"

_**"You're forgetting Ayame,"**_ he added—and she could practically _hear_ his smirk.

Asshole. "I'm hanging up," she repeated, nodding to herself.

**_"Hey, wait—I'm sorry,"_** Inuyasha blurted out.

Chocolate orbs widened and Kagome stared at her cell phone. Either she really needed to sleep or… "What?" she asked, whispering.

_**"I said that I'm sorry—and don't make me repeat it for your sadistic pleasure!"**_ he accused, his apologetic tone gone way too soon for her liking.

"Well, saying it twice for being two days late sounds good to me," Kagome spat, inwardly complimenting herself for her attempt, just as a teenager would after shutting her biggest enemy's mouth with two or three smart retorts.

But Kagome wasn't smart.

**_"In that case, I should ask you to apologize fourteen times since you stepped all over my mother's painting two weeks ago,"_** Inuyasha pointed out.

The raven-haired girl's mouth went dry. "I-I-Huh…" Kagome stuttered. "Thirteen," she corrected. "Thirteen times. I apologized once, remember?"

_**"That was before you poured your coffee all over me. That shit stinks, you know that? There was even whipped cream in your coffee. Gross."**_

Kagome clenched her fist. Was he actually trying to make _her_ feel at fault? To make her feel guilty once again? Well, if that was the case, she wouldn't let him. This time, she was hurt, too. "Are you done now? Can I hang up?"

She heard Inuyasha shout some heated answer but a sudden thump drew her attention away from him and Kagome looked around. Buyo wasn't lying on her bed anymore. On her knees, she looked around her bed, making strange noises with her lips that had to let Taka-baka wonder what the hell she was doing. When she finally spotted a mass of fur, Kagome chuckled. Her pet was on lying on its back and it was visibly struggling to get back on its four.

"Buyo," she called. "My poor baby, you fell from the bed once again? Am I being too loud with my phone call?" Kagome gently pushed Buyo with her foot and the cat rolled on his belly.

**_"Who are you talking to, wench? Another one of your stupid boyfriends? Have you already dumped Hobo?"_** snapped Inuyasha from the other end. _**"Keh, shouldn't surprise me…"**_

Kagome's jaw twitched and she glared at the phone. What had gotten into him, now? "Buyo is a sweetheart, I'll have you know that. Okay, the cat is a bit… obese—but he purrs and all, you know?" _Of course he purrs, Buyo is cat, stupid._

**_"What—the_ cat_?"_** He sounded surprised.

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Yes, the cat. My cat. Buyo." She sighed. "Are you done now? You apologized, I apologized,"_—sort of—_"so I can hang up."

**_"Dinner—No, movies—No, no, no. Lunch. Tomorrow—Saturday, right? Lunch. WacDonald's, at noon,"_** he prompted somewhat nervously. _**"Don't be late, Ka-go-me. I hate it when people are late…" **_he added before hanging up.

"Hey, wait a moment!"_—Beep. Beep. Beep.—_"Takahashi? Jerk number one? First-class asshole?"

Slowly, very slowly, Kagome pulled her cellphone away from her ear and shut it before staring at it, eyes wide open. Okay. Lunch. At noon. On Saturday. With Inuyasha Takahashi. But why? Was this another event to add to her 'tremendously awful' week or was it actually…

_Is this a date?_

* * *

**Word count:** 1,269

* * *

_Last revision: September 30th, 2009. Special thanks to **Jusenkyo**, for her help with the whole revision process; you're one of the best._


	11. Awaited, Wanted but Smelly Dates

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

* * *

_**Awaited, Wanted but Smelly Dates**_

He still couldn't believe he had actually called her.

Scratch that crap, he believed that. What he didn't want to believe and to recognize was that he had just dropped a date on her. What her reaction might have been didn't concern him—to speak frankly, he didn't give a shit—but whatever had crossed her mind once he had hung up still meant that she _had_ to show up. What kind of idiot would he be if she didn't? She could think anything she wanted of him, as long as she showed up. Kagome Higurashi, the plain, fashion-sense-handicapped deliverer could even think that _he_, Inuyasha Takahashi, one of the richest men in all Japan—money makes it all, mind you—liked her…

Ha! As if.

The half-demon collapsed on his throne-like armchair and turned his computer off. It was definitely time to call it a day.

The plan hadn't been complicated. First, convince his "super buddy" Miroku into snatching Sango's cell phone and bringing it to him on a silver platter. He could have asked that "super buddy" to _borrow_ Kagome Higurashi's number himself and then give it to him, but that would have been too much information, and Inuyasha didn't trust Miroku that much… yet. Second, call the wench, make her throw a fit—that had somehow worked and he was damn proud of it!—and then force her to apologize at _least_ a hundred times for the humiliation she had made him suffer through at the café. Third, laugh at her face, tell her to suck off her Homo-boyfriend, and book a plane ticket for Taipei.

But things could never go the way he planned them, could they? You know the answer.

No.

_He_ had apologized.

_He_ had been ignored_—Fucking cat son-of-a—_and then…

_He_ had asked _her_ out. 'Told' or 'ordered' would be more appropriate, though. Not to mention that the idea of a fast-food joint had been perfect; nobody he actually knew could ever see him at WacDonald's. Yeah, he was a genius.

Cat or not, Hobo-guy or not, yes, Inuyasha wanted to see her again. He wanted to see that pair of big chocolate-colored eyes that glared at him too often. The reasons of it all were still unknown to him, but he had time to kill on Saturday, and plenty of lonely nights to think about said reasons. Perhaps he just needed to do something that didn't fit in the picture of his god-damned routine.

And Inuyasha Takahashi left behind him a ringing cell phone.

* * *

"Of all the places, you had to choose WacDonald's!"

"You're late, bitch."

"What did you say?!"

"What? You _are_ bitching!"

Interrupting their _relevant_ conversation, the young cashier behind the counter announced, "It will be 1010,43 yen, sir."

"You were planning to eat without me, you—"

"Shut up and order your meal," cut the half-demon as he paid for the meal, mimicking the cashier as she rolled her eyes.

The young woman beside him scoffed. "You—You _are_ making me pay!"

Grabbing his tray, Inuyasha turned heels and looked down at the petite raven-haired deliverer that had him waiting fifteen minutes. "This ain't a date. There's no reason for me to pay your meal."

"Gallantry?" She got indignant.

"Is dead," he concluded.

Eventually, Inuyasha realized that even though it _had_ really been impolite for him to refuse paying for her meal when he was the one who had set the date—no, the… _meeting_—and that he was the one with billions in his bank account, he didn't regret it. Had Sesshomaru seen the way and how much Kagome Higurashi ate, he wouldn't call him a pig anymore. A whole set of cheeseburgers and French fries occupied her side of the table, while his was invaded by drinks and nuggets. Not to mention that three WacFlurries were currently resting on her lap, for 'lack of space,' mind you. Kagome Higurashi had to have a pierced stomach, or at least a vortex had replaced it a long time ago, because there was no way a normal _human_ being could ever eat that much without feeling sick. Hell, he was a half-demon and he already had nauseas by simply watching her.

"Weh, wha' ish it?" she somehow managed to ask between bites of her cheeseburger and two fries. "Ya' not ea'ing?" When Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, she held her hand up since mouthing would have reduced her sex-appeal to nothing—not that she actually had any with all that plastic cheese between her teeth—and quickly swallowed. "You don't like your Big Wac?" she asked.

The CEO looked down at his sandwich and the image of Kagome devouring a gigantic building of fries flashed before his eyes. He could almost hear her laugh evilly while digesting her monstrous meal… "Huh, no, actually, I'm not that hungry…" he answered.

The young woman nodded, "I can see that. Your menu is just so tiny! I eat that when I'm on a diet!" she exclaimed before swallowing another nugget.

Inuyasha almost gagged. _This is a Maxi Best Of menu…_

Kagome happily ate the rest of her junk food, which was to her the best invention that was ever made since Internet—or did junk food exist before Internet?—and mentally admitted that this dead-gallantry-date hadn't been that much of a bad idea. She had had trouble with transportation, thus her being late, and Inuyasha Takahashi had also royally pissed her off when she had spotted him ordering his food without her, but in the end, she was having a good time. Although she really wondered why he was being so silent.

"So," she began, drinking some of her coke, "why did you want to see me?" she bluntly asked. Curiosity sparked in her chocolate eyes, and Kagome was really eager to receive an answer. Starting to eat her last WacFlurry, she stared at him, and waited.

"No reason," Inuyasha blurted out, tapping his claws on the table.

Kagome hummed, and pushed her empty tray aside, along with her dessert. "I see," she murmured, leaning towards him.

Frowning, Inuyasha distanced his face from hers. Kagome Higurashi was looking for an answer and if he guessed well, she was the type of woman who didn't easily let go. The problem was that he didn't know the answer himself; he had no reason to see her. Still, she managed to surprise him, _again_, by announcing her own Big Bang theory.

"You're having problems with your girlfriend," she stated, pride overtaking her aura. She crossed her arms and smugly added, "And you thought that I was qualified enough to give you some advice! That doesn't surprise me, to be honest—not that I'm saying that I'm wonderful—but after all, when a guy doesn't have any friends to confide in, his enemies are the only ones left—though I hope you don't dislike me _that_ much, but just as much as I do…" she blabbed on.

Eyes wide open, Inuyasha shouted in her face, _"You must be on drugs!"_ Why would he ever think of confiding in her? Did the world start spinning the wrong way? _She_ was the one who had insulted him, who had stepped on his mother's portrait_—And the one you asked out,_ added his conscience.

Raising her eyebrows and slamming her hands on the table, Kagome leaned forward once again and yelled, _"Then why aren't you in Taipei, jackass?!"_

"I—" He _had_ problems with his girlfriend.

"And who, pray tell, is your confident?" she quickly added.

"Well—" He didn't have any close friends.

"And don't tell me you happen to _like_ me!" she finished, intended to prove to him that she was right from A to Z.

Inuyasha shut his mouth, glaring at the young woman in front of him. He _didn't_ like her. _No_ way.

Kagome proudly smiled and sat back down. "So… I accept helping you out."

Dog ears twitched before the half-demon laughed in her face. "Who said I needed your help?"

"But you want it," the young woman retorted. "Why would you ask me to come here if you didn't?"

_But I don't want any help with…_

"I just have one condition."

Really? Now, the businessman in Inuyasha was interested. Eager to know her lonely condition, and with his ears perked up, Inuyasha nodded, motioning her to continue.

"You'll have to give me your ass-kissing employee's number." She smiled. She smiled a bright smile. She was so damn proud.

And he was in some deep shit. "What… what ass-kissing employee?" he murmured, thanking the gods she wasn't herself a demon, or else she would have noticed how fast his heart was beating from panic.

"You know, the one who told you all those bad-but-true things I said about you!" pressed Kagome. Well, at least her honesty deserved an award…

"Oh, him…" _Think, Inuyasha, think fast…_ "What about I give you my number instead?" He nervously laughed.

"I hope that wasn't a joke attempt," she deadpanned.

Ah! Realization hit him. "Hojo would not like the idea," he seriously said, nodding to himself.

This time, Kagome slammed her fist on the table. "Who cares about—"

Her sudden silence quickly troubled him. Inuyasha leaned forward, his hand patting her unclenched fist as she looked down her lap. "Wench? Are you alright?" She nodded. "You sure?" he asked, raising his voice a little. She nodded again and he sighed. "Then what were you about to—"

Gasps and gagging noises coming from other WacDonald's customers reached his ears before a disgusting and nauseating smell attacked his sensitive nose. "What the—" he quickly shut his mouth as the strong smell almost made him taste.

Kagome was coughing.

Kagome Higurashi had emptied her stomach on his suit.

Pinching his nose, Inuyasha yelled, _"Fuck you!"_ with a now duck-like voice. "Dammit, Kagome! That's what happens when you eat for twelve!"

Pale and weakened, Kagome still managed to shout back at him between coughs. "Well, fuck _you_. Shit happens, that's all!"

"Shit happens?! I have your vomit all over me—so no pun intended, okay?!"

Stumbling as she stood up, and mimicking him, Kagome scoffed. "I'm going _home_, first-class asshole! The whole point of this date is totally nonexistent!"

"Ha, you tell me! Don't look for me, I'll be going round in a washing-machine along with my clothes!" he announced with disgust written all over his face.

"As if I would!"

Kagome reached out for her purse, patting her sick stomach, bile in her mouth, and was about to leave when Takahashi's voice echoed in her ears, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Tomorrow, eight o'clock," he prompted.

Without turning around, she decided, "At the _Jackie and his Sweeties_ bar."

* * *

**Word counts:** 419; 1,403

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_Last revision: September 30th, 2009. Special thanks to **Jusenkyo**, for her help with the whole revision process; you're one of the best._


	12. Alcohol Bonding, also known as Trouble

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

William Shakespeare won't hate me for borrowing _Romeo and Juliet_.

_Special thanks to my wonderfully wonderful beta, **Lyra**._

* * *

_**Alcohol Bonding, also known as Trouble**_

_It was with big, wide open eyes and a look that only meant she didn't understand a thing, that Kagome Higurashi, thirteen years-old, stared at the scene before her. Figures were dancing on the black board, the fanatic teacher with greasy hair was fully listening to one of her classmates explaining why the triangle they were all working on was an equivalent one—Kagome never really understood what it meant, probably because_ equivalent _wasn't the right word to use—and all she could do was to blink._

_As Kagome's stuttering classmate ended the demonstration, the teacher nodded, scratching his chin, and turned to face the other students. "Well, what do you think?" he asked. "Did Nobunaga do well?" As he caught the raven-haired teen in mid-yawn, the teacher stomped right in front of her desk. "And you, Higurashi, what do you think? Or are you too stupid to understand this?" he pointed the black board._

_Kagome blinked and the teacher fumed. What a student! That dunce either loved being provocative and collecting zeros, or was really dumbly dumb. Surely his reaction was a_ bit _excessive, but Higurashi wasn't exactly the epitome of intelligence… and the worse part of it all was that she never even _tried_ to understand Maths. _

_"Izzit understood?" he roared, not taking the time to properly articulate—and sprays of spit dropping on Kagome's desk._

_The young girl stared at him, glanced at the black board, then at Nobunaga and looked back at the teacher. "Just…" she began. _

_A flicker of hope entered the old man's eyes. Perhaps the child finally understood something… anything. _

_"Who got under what__?"_

* * *

His fist repeatedly hit the table as he laughed as if there were no tomorrow. "I can't believe that!" More laughter. "How could you be _so_ stupid, so…"

More alcohol.

Kagome almost choked with her own saliva as she watched the CEO miss his own mouth and spill his beer on his lap.

"Ah, fucking shit…"

"Don't say _dumb_! That old coot told me I was one enough times to make me understand that…" went on Kagome, not dropping the subject.

"Well, at least you managed to understand something!" Inuyasha Takahashi's laughter doubled as he saw Kagome's jaw drop in mock offense. "Ah, I'm gonna die…" he added, clutching his stomach and his head suddenly spinning.

The bartender and owner of _Jackie and his Sweeties_ sighed as he watched his last two clients. All Jakotsu wanted to do right then was to call it a night and go home to sleep, but how could he throw a regular and the well-known Inuyasha Takahashi out? One had to pay the bills… "Well, die already," he muttered. Oh, don't get him wrong; Jakotsu _liked_ Takahashi—the CEO had one hell of a butt, but it was obvious that he was into women only…

Kagome's eyes widened at Inuyasha's statement and quickly stood up, grabbing his arm. "What about your last will? Give me your car at least! I'll be the one holding your hand while you leave for the afterlife!"

With difficulty, Inuyasha stood up and together they stumbled backwards, much to their drunken state and to his being tall and built—thus heavy. "No, no, no," he shook his head. "Gotta have an heir before I die!"

Both Jakotsu and Kagome gasped, but before the bartender could say a thing, the young woman uttered something that resembled to, "Don't ya worry!" and she was already working on removing her jeans.

A long series of curses escaped the transvestite's mouth and while Kagome climbed on Inuyasha's lap, Jakotsu flipped his cell phone open and dialed his older brother's number. It was definitely time for those two to go back home, _separately_. "Bankotsu? Yeah—where are you?" He sighed. "Kinda need your help…"

"Honey, we can't make babies if I still have my pants on—have you removed your panties?" Inuyasha's voice reached Jakotsu's ears.

"…and discretion," added the bartender. "We're talking about a well-known businessman here."

"Takahashi, you're wet!"

"I shouldn't be the wet one…"

"Your lap stinks."

"You stink."

* * *

"Oh, speak again, bright angel! For thou art—" The dark-haired man suddenly moved away as a soup plate was thrown at him from the balcony.

"Why won't you shut up?" a very angry brunette shouted, punctuating every single word she spoke. "Stalker."

"Sango, I thought you liked Shakespeare—" A spoon fell.

"I _hate_ Romeo and Juliet!" A fork too. "I hate Romeo-like guys in general!"

"Sango, just warn me when you're about to throw the—"

"This, Miroku?" she cut again, holding a three-piece saucepan. "They're all gifts from my grandmother—always hated them! You can have all of them and then beat it!"

His eyes pleaded her to calm down since he feared the neighbors would call the police for night disturbance when all he had wanted was to sound romantic, hoping she would invite him upstairs and then…

"Guys, could you please… shut up?" A third voice cut their argument and both Miroku and Sango instantly forgot what they were doing and why they were doing it as Jakotsu and his brother carried a pair of drunk fools whose faces were too familiar for their liking. "I'm sorry, but—" Bankotsu was cut as well by the brunette who just couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"It's four in the fucking morning!" she hissed. "What the hell is wrong with you all? And what happened to my Kagome?"

Exhaling heavily, Bankotsu replied, "Listen, the girl was about to dry-fuck the billionaire I'm carrying on my back and since she couldn't remember where the hell she lived, Jakotsu and I figured that we could just drop her here! She's your friend, isn't she? You girls always drink together at our bar."

Sango rubbed her forehead, the worry overtaking her. She was glad the two brothers remembered where she lived as she also was a regular at _Jackie and his Sweeties_, but also slightly blaming herself for having Kagome frequenting bars all alone—wait a moment, her own boss was there. Why was she with Inuyasha Takahashi? And hadn't Bankotsu just mentioned something about dry…

"Hey, have you two been careful?" Miroku's voice interrupted her thoughts and Sango watched him question the two other men. "We don't need paparazzi…"

"Who do you think we are?" Jakotsu huffed. "We've done our best."

Sango sighed, the whole situation exasperating her. "Bring Kagome upstairs."

"Perhaps it's best if we bring Inuyasha as well," Miroku suggested. "I'm not driving him at Sesshomaru's or at his own place for that matter. Remember? Discretion…" His co-worker glared at him and he shivered.

"Okay! Bring him too! But he's a businessman, not the Emperor of Japan!"

Jakotsu and Bankotsu, both utterly tired of having to carry snoring and drooling people on their backs, hurried themselves and entered the apartment building. Miroku followed, casting glances around him. Perhaps he was being paranoid, but a prominent CEO finding himself drunk with another girl while he was dating a very popular artist and model was good news for obnoxious journalists.

* * *

**Word counts: **699; 518

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

**bunnyboo:** Oh, I would too, eh!

**Sana:** Great! I'm glad you found it exciting! The vomit part was also one of my favorites—humor, we call it… ;) Okay, that wasn't funny.

**Mika:** Aw, what's with you people saying that Kagome is skinny? That word makes it sound like she's an anorexic wannabe. The girl has curves, take a better look at Takahashi-sensei's drawings! :P Anyway, I wouldn't like to "eat a cookie and blow up like a balloon". I pretty much eat like a pig—thank Gods I'm far from being one, lol! I'm really happy to know you enjoyed their first date that much, my friend!

* * *

**A/N:** …Missed me? …I know. …Yeah. …Sorry. …Eventually—Anyway, liked the chapter?


	13. Have it Coming

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_Special thanks to my beta **Lyra**, as always._

* * *

_**Have it Coming**_

Soft sun rays caressed heavy eyelids while the city outside quickly roared to life. Everything in the apartment was silent as it couldn't have been more than six in the morning. The raven-haired girl sprawled on the couch was breathing softly but her eyes clearly betrayed her sleep, for she was obviously trying to open them.

Reality suddenly came crushing down. There was this feeling, in the back of her head, that tried to alarm her; she wasn't at her home. She didn't recognize this place. Her body didn't recognize the material on which it was lying. Chocolate eyes blinked as the girl realized this place wasn't her room but a very unique living room. And so far, she only knew one person who enjoyed collecting boomerangs.

_Why am I at Sango's?_

What had she been doing the previous night? She didn't recall spending time with her friend. She only remembered Jakotsu, the barman, and a very handsome and very drunk CEO. _Drunk. A drunk Inuyasha Takahashi. What in the seven hells… _Suddenly panicking, Kagome sat up, trying to ignore the pounding in her skull, and checked her clothing. Her intact clothing. She let out a sigh of relief. Undid were the button and the fly of her pants, but then again, Sango might have wanted to just let her sleep somewhat comfortably. _Why am I at Sango's again?_

A light snore caught Kagome's attention and she noticed a nearby worn-out futon on which the very Inuyasha Takahashi was slowly waking up. Her heart was now racing; what if she had done something embarrassing the previous night? Kagome looked down at her pants and cursed. Had they tried to seduce each other or something? _Gross._

"You freaking pervert! What are you doing in _my _room?"

That was Sango, indeed.

Kagome heard a very furious woman exit her bedroom and head for the living room—or maybe the kitchen.

"What are you doing in my house in the first place?" Sango went on.

"Why, I thought that if both Inuyasha and Kagome could stay, I could too."

Was that Miroku's voice? _What's going on here?_

"Okay, listen to me, _attentively_, playboy. Kagome stayed because she is my friend and Takahashi because he's my boss—my fucking _drunk_ boss—while you are…?"

"A co-worker?"

"Exactly. You're _just_ a co-worker. You should have left with Jakotsu and Bankotsu."

Now, that made sense, Kagome thought. The two brothers must have dropped her at Sango's since she wasn't able to go home. Her brunette friend entered the living room along with Miroku who smiled creepily at her, and Kagome gulped. When Sango noticed she was awake, her expression softened.

"How are you feeling, Kagome?" she asked.

The raven-haired girl was about to answer when she was rudely interrupted.

"Fucking shit… What's all this fuss about…?"

Three pairs of eyes diverted their gaze to look at an obviously confused half-demon who was slowly sitting up.

"Where the hell am I…"

"Good morning, Inuyasha," Miroku greeted, suppressing a laugh.

The CEO looked up, frowning. He was used to waking up alone—if not next to Kikyo—and in a luxurious bed, not on a shitty futon with three idiots staring at him. There _had_ to be a reason why he was there and… _Please tell me I didn't sleep with the delivery girl._ He _did_ recall lying on the floor with a very clumsy—and yet really sexy—raven-haired girl straddling him, and actually, that seemed to be the only thing he really remembered.

Inuyasha cleared his throat that had suddenly gone dry. "Uh… Hello?"

"Hi," was Kagome's timid reply.

Wait—was she blushing? Why? What had he done?

Sango let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry for this, Mr. Takahashi. Both you and Kagome drank too much last night and the barman was unable to send you home."

Inuyasha slowly nodded. "But… why are we here?"

"I know the owners of the bar very well and they usually see me hanging there with Kagome, so they thought it would be easier to take her here."

"As for you," Miroku continued, "they brought you here as well since they didn't exactly know where you lived and I suggested you stayed at Sango's to avoid… paparazzi."

_I'm not fucking Tom Cruise, dumbass._ "And why are _you_ here?"

The dark-haired man only grinned, which caused Sango to roll her eyes.

"Miroku, kitchen, _now_."

"On the counter, love?"

"Shut up."

As soon as they were out, Inuyasha stood up, repulsed by the reek of alcohol on his clothes. His sensitive nose just couldn't stand it. He heard Kagome shift on the couch and his ears twitched, eyes of gold glancing at her. She was clearly embarrassed, and yet neither Sango nor Miroku mentioned anything about compromising positions… _Then why avoid so-called paparazzi? And why leave us alone so suddenly?_

"You okay?" he finally dared to ask.

Kagome quickly nodded. "You?"

"Uh-huh."

Inuyasha was looking for his shoes as he was eagerly looking forward to leaving Sango's place, when Kagome suddenly blurted out, "I'm sorry."

He stilled and slowly turned to face her. That was it. They _had_ done something they shouldn't have. "What for?"

She cleared her throat. "Uh, well… Our outing didn't exactly go as I had planned; I didn't want us to end up with a bad hangover!" She laughed.

Kagome Higurashi was _laughing_.

"Oh." Did he sound disappointed? "It's okay—I'm just late for work now," he managed a smile.

_So much for thinking about dramatic situations._

* * *

A well-manicured hand slammed a large envelope on the only desk of the darkened room. A young man watched the irritated woman with his purple eyes as she sat before him, a smirk adorning his features. She was now breathing heavily while filing her nails. She _was_ a beautiful woman, in his opinion, minus the exaggerated red lipstick.

"Do you have it?" he asked.

Crimson eyes sent him a dirty look. "What do you think there is in that envelope? Lollipops?" She scoffed. "Just give me the money. I'm not freezing my ass for such idiocies again."

He chuckled. "I thought you wanted to be a successful journalist."

She slammed her nail file on the desk. This was getting ridiculous; she almost thought herself as a freaking paparazzi looking for Spiderman's true identity. "Journalists don't take pictures of an ass-drunk, half-demon CEO."

"Hey, this is just business. He gets his money by manipulating companies and we get money by immortalizing his misery moments with a girl who isn't his fiancée." He paused, frowning. "Are they engaged yet?"

"Hell if I know." _Gossip freak, _she mentally spat.

"Not to mention this new girl isn't all that cute…"

She was losing her patience now. "Are we done yet?"

The purple-eyed man chuckled. "Relax, I'll make sure you'll be rewarded." _The photograph's name always appears at the end of an article. But what good can it do to you, you new paparazzi wannabe?_

"You just have the money ready for this afternoon."

The young man nodded. "Headlines are ready," he announced, smirking, _"Prominent CEO Inuyasha Takahashi sends his beloved model to Taiwan only to spend some quality time. We all have our stressful moments," _he quoted.

* * *

**Word counts:** 941; 297

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

**Mika:** I'm trying not to have a _too_ violent Sango and to avoid that cliché line, "Hentai!" (insert hit here). But I mean, four in the morning, Shakespeare. Violence is needed, lol. I hope this chapter was satisfying enough for you!

**anon:** Thank you! I'm glad to have done a good job with the humor.

**Alyssa:** Welcome, new reader! I only hope I won't bore you, because you're in for a long run—I think.

* * *

**A/N:** Eh, wanna guess who are those two characters in the second scene? One spoiler offered to whoever finds out who are _both_ characters—if you actually want a spoiler. Anyway, add your 2 cents, onegaishimasu!


	14. Theory and Practice are Old Relatives

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_Some credit goes to my beta **Lyra**, of course._

* * *

_**Theory and Practice are Old Relatives**_

Yura was merrily humming that Monday morning as she exited the elevator. There was absolutely no need to hurry after all; knowing her boss, he had probably spent his Sunday working in his office instead of organizing a family picnic, going fishing or to the movies—hell, why not even take his private jet and fly to Spain while he was at it. But no, Inuyasha Takahashi was one to love his office more than anything else (perhaps he did kinky little things in there? Yura didn't know yet), so why, as his secretary, should she hurry on a Monday morning when he always acted as if he didn't need her? That workaholic almost did everything on his own.

_Bah, salary is good; might as well stay…_

Sitting at her desk, the hair demon flipped the pages of her fashion magazine—she never found the newspaper interesting—and arched an eyebrow as she spotted a two-page article about the "Top-ranked styles of the Week". It wasn't the many Japanese pop stars daily-shopping, nor their fellow _drama _actors having dinner in a restaurant, all clad in very stylish clothes, that caught Yura's eye. It was the more discreet, but perhaps lovelier, model in street clothes that did it. Her clothing style was ranked #1 that week and Yura couldn't but agree. Those clothes seemed to have been designed exclusively for the model. However, the girl's face was slightly familiar…

"Yura!" Inuyasha Takahashi's voice interrupted the hair demon's thoughts as he popped his head through his office door. "Coffee, now."

Eyes still glued to the article, Yura nodded slowly before answering, "Hey, boss, your fiancée, Miss Kikyo has got her clothing style ranked #1 this week! Ain't that great… Here, let me read you this: _"Spotted in the city of Taipei while she was supposed to be—_

"Kikyo is _not_ my fiancée," her boss cut, grunting, before slamming the door shut.

Blinking, Yura shrugged. She didn't even want to know why he hadn't simply buzzed her. When she neared the distributor a few minutes later, she began feeling curious; everyone was chatting louder than usual.

"Yura-san," called a familiar voice. "Good morning."

The demoness turned around only to face a co-worker named Koharu. She returned the greeting but wondered why the young woman suddenly felt like talking to her. She had never done it before, so why now?

"Have you read the newspaper, Yura-san?" Koharu asked politely.

Yura was certain she was dying to laugh. Was there some kind of joke going on? "Huh, no. Never read that stuff."

Koharu handed the hair demon her newspaper, grinning when she saw Yura's reaction. "I think this time they're officially over," she commented. "I also heard Hoshi Miroku-san talking with a brunette woman from the security department and he said that Takahashi-sama hasn't been able to go home on Saturday night…"

Inuyasha's secretary was barely listening to what the petite woman was telling her. She was used to read gossips about her boss, for he was a rather handsome executive who had an always on and off relationship with his girlfriend, but damn it, what kind of headlines were these?

"Prominent CEO Inuyasha Takahashi sends his beloved model to Taiwan only to spend some quality time. We all have our stressful moments… Read more at page three," Yura read and immediately went to the mentioned page.

A nice set of pictures illustrated the article; on the first one, Inuyasha Takahashi was lying on the floor, in what seemed to be an empty bar—but judging by the only fact that a picture had been taken proved quite the contrary—with an unknown female with messy hair unbuttoning her pants. On the second picture, Yura's boss was being…escorted (_What the hell? Piggy-back rides? _Yura thought.)…inside a common apartment building by two other men who, in the next picture, were seen exiting that same building. Yura paid a bit more attention to what was being said in the article and obviously, the person who had written it down didn't like her boss very much; it was all about crushing Inuyasha Takahashi's reputation. The last picture that had been taken clearly showed that the half-demon had driven the unknown girl at work if not at home, for she was exiting his car in a street that neared the Takahashi, Corp. building.

"Many are already wondering about this random girl's identity. How could _she _have taken the CEO away from his beloved model?" Yura kept on reading.

Her boss' coffee already forgotten, the hair demon knew that she now had several gossip calls to do. She'd have to give this _Lady of the Wind_ photographer kudos. Without the pictures she had taken, the whole article would have just been a random and useless Takahashi clash.

* * *

The sudden ringing of his phone almost made Inuyasha jump out of his skin. He had been nervously pacing in his office for the past five hours, not to mention that his secretary seemed to have disappeared along with the coffee he had wanted her to get him. Well, too bad, she probably was too busy admiring how photogenic he was when drunk. _Damn it all, I'm so screwed…_

He had decided to act as if he hadn't noticed the results of his little Saturday outing were on four different newspapers. Perhaps he should ask his super buddy Miroku to lend him some of his paranoia, because he sure as hell didn't saw _that_ coming. All Inuyasha had ever wanted was to spend a nice Saturday night, somewhere else than his office for once—and what a night… Okay, maybe he _had _misjudged Kagome Higurashi. Well, she _was_ pretty dumb, and a pain in the ass, and your typical not-so-bright delivery girl… but she was also fun, honest, with a rather nice body _(Bah, she's only twenty after all!)_ and—hold on! What did he just…?

As his phone kept on ringing, Inuyasha finally decided that he'd better answer it. "Hello?" he greeted with little interest. Either it was Kikyo, who wanted to break up for the umpteenth time, or…

_**"I don't even want to know why your sorry butt isn't in Taipei right now but in every newspaper and random magazine,"**_ came the cold voice of Sesshomaru Takahashi.

_First heir of our father, but the last person I want to talk to in this exact moment._ "Then why are you calling?" Inuyasha retorted.

_**"Who is she, Inuyasha?"**_

"Who is who?"

Sesshomaru sighed. _**"Listen, you'd better quit seeing that girl. Not only it will help your reputation—and our family's, but it would also spare her some…disturbance."**_

Inuyasha scoffed. "Hey, did someone call you this morning and tell you I needed your advice, big brother? Because I certainly didn't and I'd be glad to kick that someone's ass." The half-demon waited for a smart retort from Sesshomaru, however, what he heard next wasn't exactly what he expected…

_"Sesshomaru…?"_ called a soft, _feminine _voice. _"It's way too early, what are you doing? Are you having trouble sleeping? Come here, I'll stroke your fur just like yesterday."_

_Stroke his fur? What the bloody hell?_ "Sesshomaru? Where are you?" Inuyasha exclaimed.

_**"… Have a good day Inuyasha." **_

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Inuyasha stared at his phone as if he had been dreaming the whole call. Stroke Sesshomaru's fur? What kind of joke was that? _Fucking hypocrite gets to purr with a fucking woman who has got a bastard-fetish and I can't enjoy my Saturday nights with a friend._

A friend.

Kagome didn't deserve to have a bunch of journalists waiting for her outside her house every morning because of him. For now, she was still the 'unknown girl', but if he kept on seeing her without being careful now that they were in every gossip magazine, it would be the end of her private life and basically, the end of him.

And the end of his relationship with Kikyo. Kikyo. He had to call her.

Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek while gazing outside through his bay-windows. Twitching, his dog ears could hear what his employees were saying, but he didn't really pay attention to it. Blindly dialing a number he now knew by heart, Inuyasha cursed his brother to hell.

He needed to make some things right, to avoid misunderstandings. He needed…

_**"This is Kagome. I'm afraid I might be too busy to answer. Please leave a message!"**_

Well… Clearly, carefulness and moody girlfriends didn't come first.

* * *

**Word counts: **806; 624

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

**Mika:** Trouble is only beginning, my friend! I'm glad you like Miroku in this story… There will be more of him, of course, though this time I can't promise you I'll keep on writing Jakotsu scenes. I may keep them for **Uncontrollable**!

**seashell:** Super cute story? I'm not a fan of cute stories and knowing that this one I'm writing is probably one gives me the creeps. I'm not offended or anything, but I never thought about writing a cute, Cinderella yay-yay story. This is just bad humor. Thank you for reading anyway!

* * *

**A/N:** Kinky-Hoe is sick! Sick as in had a fever, still coughs and feels sleepy all the time. Ain't that sad? Oh well, I still managed to update. I hope you enjoyed, because I had poor marks lately at school and it's time for me to do some homework, sadly.

No one found who my two mysterious characters were! You guys did find out Kagura was the woman, which was pretty obvious, but then you all thought the man was Naraku. Nope! A bit too much on the cliché side! I'm giving you another chance. ;)


	15. Change of Plans

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_Special thanks to my beta **Lyra**!!_

_

* * *

_

**_Change of Plans_**

Rumors are always spread at top speed. It doesn't matter whether they involve popular Hollywood stars or not. What is important is how the rumor is told and the more scandalous it _appears_ to be, the more people will believe it is true.

As a model, she had quickly become popular. She had been twenty-one when she entered the entertainment world; talk show hosts would want her as one of their guests, directors would ask her to give acting a try, agents would stalk her wondering whether she hid an incredible singing talent or not. Everybody wanted her, everybody loved her, everybody was ready to throw their money for her and at her. Obviously, she couldn't refuse all the careers that were offered to her; working as a model—and _only_ as a model—was tiring and not that highly paid in the end. For years, her life had been perfect. She was beyond happy, she was rich, her family was proud of her… and her boyfriend was a well-known, half-demon CEO who came from one of the most powerful families in Japan.

When you are a celebrity, you are to expect humiliation at some point in order to become stronger; you are to expect being pointed at in the middle of the street when you are in the headlines. However, Kikyo Hikada didn't expect that the one who would humiliate her first would be her own boyfriend.

Not to mention that Inuyasha Takahashi had hit two birds with one stone—literally.

He had humiliated her by sending her on a solitary vacation and now, the world knew that while she was in Taipei, he was cheating on her with a perfect stranger whose clothes had to come from a random flea market.

"We have arrived, Miss," her chauffeur said before turning the engine off.

Kikyo swallowed hard and glared at the people standing outside the expensive hotel. Oh, they all knew. Those ass-rich gossips were everything she had been avoiding since that morning.

As her chauffeur was about to get out of the car, the beautiful Japanese woman stopped him. "Wait. Change of plans; we're going home, Kohaku."

The young man shifted in his seat. "… Does this mean…?"

"Airport, now."

"What about your clothes, Miss? Everything is still in your hotel room."

Kikyo sighed. "Have Hakkaku pack my stuff and send it home. It will get there in no time; Japan isn't that far from here." _Unfortunately for you, Inuyasha,_ she mentally added. Oh, he would suffer, definitely.

"As you wish, Miss Kikyo," Kohaku answered, his soft cinnamon eyes gazing outside. He was tired, but if Miss Kikyo told him to drive, then, by all means, he would drive…

"Aren't you eager to see your sister again?"

Damn woman. She always knew what it was that he wanted to hear… Without further ado, Kohaku started the engine.

* * *

"Here you are!" Kagome handed one of Kaede's most loyal clients a large bouquet of white roses. The handsome man standing in front of her and flashing his one million dollar smile at her had just remarried.

For the fifth time.

"Congratulations to you and to your wife of course, Muso-kun," the twenty year-old girl added, grinning.

"Thank you, Kagome. You should come and visit us someday," Muso said, holding the large bouquet he would be offering his wife in no time.

The raven-haired girl shook her head, taking a step back and letting him guess that she had to leave—and that she probably wouldn't visit. She had done it every time he got married and was quite tired to watch his public make-out sessions right after they all had lunch together.

Once outside his house, Kagome nearly bumped into the mailman. Muso greeted him—insert heart-stopping smile here—all the while handing Kagome her money.

"Good morning to you, Mr. Yanaka!" the mailman exclaimed. "I need… your signature here… and there as well…" he added, quickly handing Muso small packages and severals papers, along with a pen. "Oh, by the way," he said once they were finished, "your mailbox looked like it was about to implode, so here's your newspaper and all the stuff that was poking out."

"Oh, thank you! You're a good man."

Bored, Kagome was about to turn heels and wave goodbye when Muso's voice stopped her. "Kagome!" he called and she turned around. She saw him frown for the first time and asked what was wrong.

That was when he handed her the newspaper.

"Is that you? I mean, it couldn't be… but it really looks like you're the one on those pictures."

Kagome's eyes widened, chocolate orbs staring in horror at the pictures printed on the the paper. Why had her outing with Takahashi been immortalized and published? Why did it appear as a scandalous affair? Why would paparazzi follow them in the first place? _And why do I look like a horny teenager?_

Sango had already warned her that morning. If she wanted to be Inuyasha Takahashi's friend then she would have to keep a low profile. She would have to be careful. Inuyasha Takahashi was the soon-to-be fiancé of a popular model. No alcohol excess. No sex_—As if. _

_Don't do this, don't do that…_ Yet, the damage was already done.

"No!" Kagome quickly answered. "That's not me!" she insisted. "Definitely not me!" she added, snatching the newspaper out of Muso's hand.

Panicking, she gave Muso and the mailman no warning and ran away. As she stumbled and walked fast on the sidewalk, bumping into several people, Kagome held the newspaper in front of her, trying her best to hide her face and failing miserably since she actually showed off a large picture of her labeled as _"Takahashi's stranger, Takahashi's new lover?"_ by doing so.

Kagome felt her cell phone vibrate in the pocket of her trench coat and quickly flipped it open. _'1 __missed call: First-class asshole.'_ She pressed the call button and waited while his number was dialed back.

Right after the first beeping sound, he answered. _**"Yeah?"**_

"You called," she stated, not really knowing what to say. Was he mad at her?

**_"Yeah, uh…"_**

Her heart hammered in her chest.

_**"Can you skip work today?"**_ he suddenly asked out of the blue.

Kagome swallowed. "I… don't have any other deliveries to… Uh, I mean… Yeah," she managed to breathe out, her voice trailing off.

_**"Okay. Meet me in front of Kaede's shop then."**_

He hung up.

Kagome blinked at her cell phone. Takahashi's phone calls had always been weird, but this one was particularly weird. And odd. And bizarre.

Dropping the newspaper in a nearby trash can, Kagome felt as if the whole world was staring at her and that had probably something to do with the fact that her face had been printed an uncountable number of times on an uncountable number of newspapers. Sighing, she was surprised to feel her cell phone vibrate again.

"Hello?"

_**"Yeah, it's me again,"**_ Inuyasha said. _**"Change of plans, I'll be at your house at noon."**_

He hung up again.

Kagome bit her lower lip. He was going to pick her up? At the Higurashi Shrine? Shrugging, she turned heels and headed home. What was weird this time was not the phone call, but that he actually mentioned her home without asking for directions. Did he already know where she lived? _Have first-class assholes really got spies at their disposal or something…? Bah, he'll eventually call when he'll realize he doesn't have the slightest idea of where the Higurashi Shrine is._ He was a demon after all. Demons don't pray Buddha.

Inuyasha Takahashi never called. At noon, he was impatiently waiting in his car, which was parked in front of the shrine steps. Usually, Kagome would be amused to see him in another one of his many expensive cars but this time, she had an odd feeling of déjà-vu.

She knew that car. She had already seen that amazing-and-damn-expensive Ferrari somewhere.

* * *

**Word counts:** 483; 869

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

**Mika: **Thank you! You're sweet. Kikyo's coming back, as you can see, but yeah, that definitely won't be a problem, if you know what I mean.

_**This chapter is dedicated to the magnificent WitchyGirl99. (Isn't that a beautiful line…?) Happy birthday to you my friend and keep your boyfriend on a leash**__**—I mean, keep your readers entertained with all the suspense you've created in your stories (and with all the lemons you are going to write, heh!). Everyone should thank WitchyGirl99 because if today wasn't her birthday, I would have updated next week, meaning she's really great. ;) **_

* * *

**A/N: **Hate me since I won't be updating this story until mid-December if I keep on passing exams and getting poor marks. Worship me because next chapter will be a longer one and will focus on Inuyasha and Kagome's 'relationship'.

And since you already love me, feedback—Ah, you actually don't? :)


	16. Guests and Visitors

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter yet._

* * *

_**Guests and Visitors**_

Such moments always lead her to believe that Inuyasha Takahashi wasn't Inuyasha Takahashi.

Kagome shook her head. Perhaps it was the other way around. _But wouldn't that mean just the same?_ Arching an eyebrow at her really _impressive_ logic, the raven-haired girl decided to drop it. Glancing at the half-demon who was driving fast and heading for God-only-knows-where, Kagome couldn't help but think that something was really wrong.

They had both been silent for over ten minutes, which was a miracle by the way, and she had had the time to realize that his car was simply identical to her 'handsomely mysterious' guy's. How could _that_ be possible? Oh, scratch that. Inuyasha Takahashi could easily afford a brand-new Ferrari; wasn't he the youngest son of Inutaisho Takahashi, the full-blooded demon who owned half of Japan's electronics companies? If something was wrong, it was the fact that a common employee had given her a ride home in that same brand-new Ferrari. Of course, she noticed that weeks after her encounter with Handsomely Mysterious.

Kagome cleared her throat. "Uh, Takahashi?"

"Yeah?" he absentmindedly answered as he focused on the road.

"Did you know one of your employees has the same car as yours?"

"What?" Inuyasha half-snorted.

"Remember that ass-kissing employee I told you about? Well, he kind of… drove me home one night and… uh…" Damn it, she was rambling and definitely not getting to the point.

Frowning, the half-demon replied, "You let strange guys drive you home? Are you insane?" Oddly enough, he didn't raise his voice.

"That's not the point," Kagome retorted, sighing. "All I'm saying is that some guy has the same car as yours. How can one of your employees afford such an expensive car? I'm sure the salary is good, but _that_ good? Come on," she huffed. Rolling her eyes, for their conversation was getting nowhere, she decided to change the subject. "Now that I think of it, how come you know I live at the Higurashi Shrine?"

Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat. Now it made some sense; why she had been rambling about cars, about some employee… Thank God she was stupid! At least she didn't put two and two together.

"Hello?" Kagome waved her hand before his eyes.

"Ah, move," the half-demon muttered pushing her arm away. "Can't drive with you clowning around." He heard her as she insulted him and added, "Besides, what did you expect from a CEO? I know everything I have to know about my competitors, so if I want to know where a poor delivery girl lives, trust me; it will be a piece of cake."

How arrogant! And he was always around those days. _Why, why, why?_ Kagome asked herself many times a day—every time she came across him actually, which was very often.

"Where are we going, anyway?" she asked in a cold voice, glaring outside.

"We're here."

Mad at no one in particular, Kagome got out of the car, cursing under her breath. What a crazy day, seriously. First, her face is printed on every newspaper, then Inuyasha Takahashi comes up to her and acts in a weird manner and now—

Wow.

What sort of place was that? A suburban house—an extremely _huge _suburban house that looked like a feudal castle? No, definitely no because, well, what the hell? Who would want their house to look like that? If anything, this _was_ a feudal castle. A renovated one, most probably, but it was a castle.

"Say, Takahashi… Weren't you actually planning on taking me to a museum or something? Because I don't see the point in coming here—I mean, it's beautiful, it's—"

"We're at my mother's," Inuyasha cut her. He was trying his best not to show any particular emotion, but it was obvious that unpleasant memories were re-emerging. Thankfully, Kagome was too busy staring at the old mansion to pay attention to him.

She laughed nervously. "Am I going to meet her? I don't think this is an appropriate time, besides—"

"Why would I want you meet her?" he cut her again.

"Right…" _Touché. What were you thinking anyway?_

"She's dead. You can't meet her," Inuyasha added bitterly.

"Then why are we here?"

Kagome and Inuyasha stared at each other and both were frowning. Why, indeed? It was true that he had something to do, he didn't come just for the hell of it. Although he had payed many amounts of money—ridiculously large amounts of money—in order to prevent the traditional castle from being demolished, he made sure to _rarely_ visit the empty place. The memory of his mother sure was the one he cherished the most, but to step inside the 'house' he grew up in was too painful.

Inuyasha had sweat blood and tears so that all of his mother's belongings would finally be his. He had laughed so hard when people—reporters and collectors—suddenly came out from nowhere, asking about his mother and trying to steal her kimonos, beauty items and so on.

"What was your mother's name?" Kagome asked as they entered the feudal castle.

Inuyasha glanced at the girl, a small smile on his lips. _And to think that I came here with you, of all people. You stepped on my mother's face once, wench._ "Izayoi." Princess Izayoi. The castle had been built a couple centuries before she was born and it was a wonder it was still up… And renovations were so damn expensive.

Kagome did a twirl in the hallway and faced a surprised half-demon. "So, what are we up to?" she asked with a grin. "Are we playing hide and seek? Tag? Or are we here to clean the place?"

Inuyasha chuckled. "Let's unpack," he announced and she gave him a curious look.

There were several boxes in the back of his car, and the raven-haired girl eventually understood the meaning of his words. There were things he wanted to keep buried and hidden and some other things that he wanted to set as decorative items. Kagome wasn't surprised in the least when he told her about sneaky buyers who wanted everything Izayoi once possessed; even her chamber pot was beautifully engraved. The raven-haired girl was tempted to ask more about his mother, his family—and about him too, of course, but she wasn't sure whether that was a good idea or not. They weren't exactly friends.

Getting drunk with people you originally don't like doesn't mean you may become friends with them later.

Kagome placed a comb made of gold on one of the nightstands in Izayoi's vast bedroom. She scratched her arm for the umpteenth time—were there mosquitoes or something? It was barely Spring!—and raised her voice while announcing that she was done.

"You don't need to shout," came Inuyasha's exasperated voice from behind. Kagome nearly jumped, still scratching her skin. "What is it?" he asked, grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer. The half-demon missed Kagome's blush which didn't last long, for Inuyasha suddenly slapped her upper arm.

"Ouch!" she shrieked. "What was that for, you asshole!" When he glared at her, she automatically stepped back and the mattress caught her in the knees. She landed on the bed, rubbing her arm.

And that's when she saw it.

There was a flea in Inuyasha's hand.

Kagome blanched. She then yelled at the top of her lungs and almost exploded Inuyasha's eardrums. She absolutely _hated_ insects! And to think that one had been sucking her blood for the past hour was enough to make her feel sick.

A flea.

She wasn't a dog, for God's sake!

"This is all your fault!" Kagome shouted, pointing at Inuyasha's ears. "You are a dog, that's why there are fleas in your house!" she accused. "Disgusting!" she yelled. "Gross, gross!"

His left eye twitched. "What the fuck are you implying! I'm not suffering from a lack of hygiene, wench. Besides—"

"Your new girlfriend's blood is exquisite, Master Inuyasha."

When Kagome started scanning the room and looking under the bed, Inuyasha cleared his throat and pointed at the small flea in the palm of his hand. "First of all, Myoga, she ain't my girlfriend."

Kagome, still shivering at the sight of the flea, arched an eyebrow, wondering why she didn't take her fly spray with her.

Damn it, the flea could talk.

"I'm a flea demon, milady," the insect added with a smile.

She wrinkled her nose. As if common flies and fleas and mosquitoes weren't enough.

Inuyasha was about to add something else by the look on his face, but the sound of the entrance door suddenly slamming cut him. They both stared at each other in panic, wondering what was going on, and when a familiar scent filled Inuyasha's nostrils, he crushed Myoga in his fist and shoved him in his pocket.

"Inuyasha? I know you're here. Yura told me."

Kagome's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. "Miss Kikyo is here?" she murmured.

Inuyasha grabbed her by the elbow, dragged her across the room, hurrying, opened an old closet and pushed her inside, ignoring her sounds of protest.

"Here you are," he heard his girlfriend state as he locked the closet door.

Swallowing, Inuyasha slowly turned around, not exactly ready to face the music. She wasn't supposed to be there! Why wasn't she in Taiwan, for fuck's…

"Kikyo," he greeted with a half-grin.

"Inuyasha," she greeted back coldly, but still flashing her usual smile at him. "How have you been?"

Kikyo was taking a step closer and he quickly reached out for her. "Life is been hectic and I had a few things to do here…" he nervously explained. "… but I'm done." Either she seemed to buy it, or she was planning on going home with him and then make him suffer. She was going to tear off his balls.

He hadn't even _thought_ about booking a flight to Taipei. _Why did she come back _today_?_ He was in the headlines with another woman!

"Let's go home now?" he offered.

Kikyo nodded and they exited the room, then the house. Inuyasha's heart was beating fast and he watched as the model told her chauffeur that he could go home.

"Kikyo?" he called softly. "I forgot my cell phone in there. I'll be right back." The CEO gave her no time to respond and he rushed back into the house, ran towards the room where he had locked Kagome and almost stumbled over his own feet.

The delivery girl had a relieved look on her face as he opened the closet but he quickly silenced her when she was about to talk by handing her a bunch of keys.

"Wait about ten minutes, then you can go. Lock the door. Got it?"

Despite his harsh words, he gave her a pleading look. Kagome nodded slowly and she took the keys, gulping. She was still overwhelmed by Kikyo's appearance and Inuyasha's sudden behavior.

The CEO was about to shut the closet door again, having no intention of locking it again, when he gripped the back of Kagome's neck, so that she would look back at him. "This isn't what you might think it is, wench," he said, brushing his fingertips against her left cheek and then her lips.

They stared at each other for the umpteenth time that day, golden clashing with chocolate and Inuyasha Takahashi shut the door.

"Master Inuyasha?" Myoga's muffled voice called from the half-demon's pocket.

"Shut it."

"Yes."

"What did I just tell you?"

"…"

* * *

**Word count:** 1,908

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

_I can't answer your lovely reviews this time, but I would still like to thank __**Angel-Demon1**__, __**Mika**__, __**YumeMori**__, __**kagome2 a.k.a me**__, __**GoofBall88**__, __**Deity of Anime**__, __**Angel Eyed Vampire**__, __**Scherherazade**__, __**Charli2006**__, __**xXKimiko SakakiXx**__, __**WitchyGirl99**__, __**luvyou123**__, __**kazukarin**__, __**Sammie-Wammie**__, __**Cagalli Yula Athha Fangirl**__, __**Jusenkyo**__, __**Ruthe-la**__, __**AzureFlames**__, __**Rayn Lake**__, __**ryuuhime88**__, __**Saholia**__, __**marsnmonkey**__. And that's one hell of a reviewer crowd._

* * *

**A/N:** When will people stop writing scenes with Inuyasha putting on his sunglasses when he is a half-demon? Hello? Doggy ears? … Nevermind.

This was so delayed. I'm really sorry. Do you guys still like me?


	17. Mushy and Dramatic

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter yet._

* * *

_**Mushy and Dramatic**_

"Cherry Vanilla or Cookies And Cream?"

"The latter!"

"No way!"

"Ha! I knew it. Come on then, Cherry Vanilla…"

"Coming right away!"

Sango left the living room running, a bright smile on her face and started rummaging through the freezer. There was nothing better than ice-cream on a rainy afternoon spent watching TV.

She had been more than surprised when her little brother Kohaku had come knocking on her door earlier that day to ask her if she had plans for the week-end. First of all, this was very un-Kohaku like. Her brother was shy and never took the initiative. Then, there was also the fact that he traveled a lot because of his job—a small job, one that he had been offered by Inuyasha Takahashi and his girlfriend, but a job nonetheless. So how had he managed to take three days off in a row? And as a chauffeur, he was mostly needed during the week-end. Why had he come without telling her? Not that she minded, but it was, well, surprising, indeed….

"Here you go." Sango handed her brother the cherry vanilla flavored ice-cream, then sat next to him on the couch. There was an old rerun of _The Black Swindler_* on TV, one of her favorite shows. Too bad that the movie had been a disaster.

The brunette did not notice the way her brother was nervously glancing around. He absentmindedly traced patterns on the ice-cream with his spoon. "Sis," he started. "I—"

Sango rushed to the door.

Damn bell.

Well, it wasn't her birthday, but was there any surprise left? What was _Miroku_ doing here of all times?

"Huh, hi?"

Her co-worker grinned. "Good evening, Sango. How are you?"

How could he be so casual? Shrugging, she replied, "Fine. What are you doing here?"

"Asking you out. What are you doing tonight?"

At least, he was being frank. "I'm sorry, Miroku. Kohaku is here for the week-end." She gave him a small smile, one that was almost shy. She was glad, and happy, that her brother was there, that he was going to spend some time with her after several months of absence.

And Miroku could see it. Well, he had hoped she would say yes, but he knew better. Sango was difficult. This time though, he didn't object. He knew she had missed her brother.

He would deal with her frigidity another day.

Then the unexpected happened as he was about to leave.

"I'll call you later, if you're not busy with another woman," Sango said jokingly.

Sango never joked about his inability to keep it in his pants.

Sango never considered lovey-dovey phone calls with him.

"Okay…" He sounded hesitant and was drumming his fingers on the door frame.

"Later, Miroku."

Again with the soft smile.

Miroku almost left in a hurry. This Sango was more frightening than the usual.

The young woman was about to flop down on the couch when the door bell rang again, which caused Sango to groan and roll her eyes, and Kohaku to bit his fingers. He hadn't come for nothing, mind you….

Sango slammed the door open. "Miroku, what part of 'I'll call you _later_' don't you—" She blinked. Standing in front of her, _drenched_, with tears in her eyes, was… "Kagome?"

"Hi, Sango." The girl's voice was shaking.

"Oh my God, what happened? Come inside! _Now_!"

A hot bath, a few borrowed clothes, three cups of tea and forty-seven minutes later, Kagome was sitting on the couch with both Sango and Kohaku by her side. She told her older friend everything; how she spent the day with Inuyasha Takahashi, how he forced her to hide inside a closet when his girlfriend showed up, how she walked all the way back to the city center… Kagome was exhausted, her feet hurt; the fact that she cried was now understandable, but to Sango, the raven-haired girl also seemed heart-broken.

No. Humiliated was more like it.

Sango was furious. Why force her to hide? What could her presence mean? He had wanted her to accompany him, hadn't he? So what if Kikyo would have been livid to see him with another girl—the one he was on every newspaper with? Did they not argue every day of the week already?

_Why can't they just _break up _and give it a rest?_

Kagome wasn't crying anymore, thankfully. She was tired and miserable, but she refused to go home. Her mother was away and Ayame with her boyfriend. Sango was the only one left.

"Don't worry, you can stay overnight," the brunette repeated. "He has no right to treat you the way he did. You were just being nice."

"That's not the problem, Sango," Kagome protested for the umpteenth time. As always, her statement fell on deaf ears. "It was just… unexpected, I guess," she continued. "At first, I didn't mind but then, when I thought about it, I felt… ashamed. Frustrated. I never really liked him, you know? I just… felt that _maybe_ we could somewhat become friends. Apparently, I'm not the kind of person you'd want to introduce to…"

Her voice trailed off. Sango scanned her figure and the way she was staring into space with her swollen eyes. "Kagome, are you…" The young woman looked back at her and she gave a small smile. "Nothing. You should go to sleep. Let's just forget about this obnoxious prick who is my boss."

The two girls left the room in silence while Kohaku remained confused. Miss Kikyo's relationship with Inuyasha Takahashi was complicated enough but now, this girl, Kagome, his sister's friend, was joining the fun?

This fueled his desire to _quit_.

* * *

Whistling, Miroku turned his computer on. If anything, he would be watching another dirty movie that night. _No Sango, no party._

_I'm too sexy for my love, too sexy for my love, Love's going to leave me—_

Oh, a new text message.

_'__Can't call u tonight. Kagome's not feeling 2 well.'_

Miroku raised an eyebrow. A perfect return to normalcy, huh? No phone calls, watch a porno….

Shrugging, he quickly checked his e-mails and was annoyed to see that his boss had sent him one. There was no way he would do some extra work for the week-end.

_'__I'm not coming to the office on Monday. I'm leaving tonight for Toronto with Kikyo. You're the one in charge from now on._

_I'm engaged._

_Inuyasha.'_

Miroku drummed his fingers on his desk. Hmm, he needed to stop doing that.

He rubbed his face, read the e-mail all over again.

If _anything_, he would be his boss' best man.

No, scratch that.

_What. The. Hell? Engaged?_

_ENGAGED?_

* * *

**Word counts: **941; 165

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

_**Angel-Demon1**, **HlorkexD**, **Daichilover**, **isoundlikeabrownelmo**, **Cagalli Yula Athha Fangirl**, **MalachiteFlames**, **Saholia**, **Mika**, **LoVe 23**, **WitchyGirl99**, **DarkPrincess-Adidas**, **kagome2 a.k.a me**, **Angel Eyed Vampire**, **kagome past and present**, **riya**, **Scherherazade**, **kawaii_doggie_ears**, **WITCHBLADE86**, **marsnmonkey**, **black4rose13**, **Ruthe-La**, **Jusenkyo**, **R.A.M**, **xXKimiko SakakiXx**, **Charli2006**, **Rayn Lake**, **nightshade130**, **xcardmistressx**._

_Almost thirty reviews. You guys are so amazing._

_And Happy Birthday to **Lyra**._

* * *

*The Black Swindler_ is a popular Japanese drama that was aired back in 2006._

**A/N:** Well, things will go a lot faster now. Watch out…. I shall update sooner this time. (I'll try!)


	18. Getting Married For The Win

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter.

* * *

_

_**Getting Married For The Win**_

"Engaged? How did you fucking find yourself _engaged_!" Miroku roared at his boss—and friend—not caring about whoever could be eavesdropping. In times like these, every one was alert and ready to gossip, especially the women, who didn't understand why Inuyasha Takahashi had chosen to marry a super moody-model when a few days ago he had been caught with another girl…

Tabloids stated that Inuyasha Takahashi had been _"put on a leash by the fearsome dominatrix"_ that Kikyo Hikada was. Newspapers pointed out the outrageous, that Inuyasha Takahashi, _"the prominent CEO, second heir to the well-known and respected by all politician Inutaisho Takahashi"_ had been _"miserably r__educed to a vulgar series actor."_

Miroku Hoshi had been thinking about this for the past week and ever since his boss had returned to the office, he had made sure he realized how much of a fool he actually was.

"Does Sesshomaru do any shit like that?" the violet-eyed man scolded. "You're seriously nuts, Inuyasha. You and Kikyo have been going on and off for God knows how long and now you—"

"Fuck Sesshomaru," the half-demon muttered.

"That's not the point—!"

"Well, fuck you too!" Inuyasha snapped. "I am getting married, I am engaged and that's _my_ fucking problem! Not even my mother's ghost came to visit me at night to tell me that I suck, so shut up."

"That's because your mother was buried in Kyoto and trains are expensive these days."

His boss shot him a glare. "Get out of here," he muttered. "Get out, _now_."

"Fine," Miroku answered, rolling his eyes. "But don't expect me to ever accept that fiancée of yours. I always told you that models were deranged wenches."

"Miroku," Inuyasha warned.

"You know that Sango thinks just the same—"

"_Out_!"

Miroku slammed the door behind him and Inuyasha sighed with relief. Unbelievable. They were all unbelievable. He was the only one concerned after all, he could marry whoever he wanted, hell; he could go marry a prostitute if he wanted to! And Kikyo was better than that. She was intelligent _and_ beautiful, perhaps slightly neurotic, but he loved her. They all had to at least understand that, even though they disliked her. He loved her…

That was what Inuyasha repeated himself over and over again ever since he got back from Toronto, which had been a last minute destination.

Everything had been done in such a hurry and Inuyasha had felt trapped; Kikyo had forced him to make a decision. Of course he had been able to understand her; her boyfriend had sent her on a vacation alone and what did she read on newspapers and tabloids? That he was a cheating bastard. _"Either you come with me_ now_, or we're over. I don't understand you and I don't know what happened—I don't even want to know about the girl. You just have to prove me now that you actually care about me,"_ had been Kikyo's words.

And he did care about her!

Eventually, one thing led to another and there had been Toronto, then Paris, then London, and well… He proposed.

He proposed because he didn't know how else he could prove her she was _wrong_. He hadn't cheated on her and he cared about her. All of this was personal, but it was as if there were a bunch of Mirokus everywhere, telling him he was nuts, writing shit about his love life, criticizing his way of life…

He was a good CEO. He was as good as his brother, the world knew it. His father, despite being abroad three hundred and sixty days a year, was proud of him.

He was also a good boyfriend. He sent various gifts and bouquets to his girlfriend every day of the week. He had proposed after years of loving and fighting. He was getting married. He was going to have kids. He had also forgot everything about silly deliverers making his life a living hell.

_Kagome…_ Okay, he might have been a bit harsh, shoving her inside a closet, never calling her again, not even to know how she was doing. They weren't friends, but they did have had a few… not-a-date dates.

Sango had burst into his office the previous day and tossed him the key of his mother's house, glaring at him as if he were a disgusting pig. He had given that key to Kagome, so that she would lock the doors and leave, but somehow, he had been mistaken for the bad guy. He wasn't actually one, was he?

In order to make it up to the girl, he had paid several humanitarian associations over three hundred and forty million yen. He remembered she had one day pointed out that starving Africans would love the food they served in his cafeteria. He never played cheap, he just tended to… forget about other people. It was always him, Kikyo, his father, Sesshomaru, the business… And even though Kagome looked stupid and gullible and naïve, it was true that people who were as wealthy as him should make more donations. Well, there, he did it. She just didn't know it.

"Master Inuyasha?"

The silver-haired demon looked down on his desk where Myoga was sitting on his eraser.

"Don't you think we should start making a list?"

"A list?" Inuyasha repeated dumbly.

"Yes. For the wedding guests," the flea demon explained.

Inuyasha's golden eyes lit up. "That's right Myoga!" he suddenly exclaimed. "An invitation! I could invite Kagome and she'd forgive me for my shitty behavior!"

The tiny demon, who had been there that day, made a strangled noise. "W-What?"

"This is perfect. Make sure she's on the list. She's definitely going to forgive me."

Myoga coughed. "Maybe for your behavior, but not for your stupidity." He coughed again. _Good thing the New Moon is coming soon; his hearing is less acute these days and—_

_Splat.

* * *

_

"Kagome! Could you come here, please? There's a new customer and it's for a delivery."

"Coming!" the raven-haired girl replied. It was about time someone showed up. She and Ayame had been cleaning the store backroom for the past two hours! It was time they did something _really_ useful.

Ayame was about to join old granny Kaede at the cash counter when she noticed that her friend wasn't exactly 'coming'. The redhead turned around and caught Kagome staring into space. Obviously, she was at _it_ again. "Kagome," she softly called. "Come on. Don't be mad."

"I'm not. I'm sad, actually."

Ayame reached out to take her hand. "You know it won't change anything. I'll still work here and hang out with you—"

"But then you'll have kids and it will be me and Granny Kaede," Kagome finished, sighing. "It's just going to take some time, okay? I'll eventually realize that you've been with Koga for two years and that it's understandable that you guys want to get married."

The wolf demoness offered her a soft smile. "Thank you," she whispered as they walked hand in hand into the main room. But as soon as Ayame recognized their new customer, she stopped dead in her tracks and Kagome bumped into her. Kaede covered her mouth with her hand as she watched her two favorite girls stumble near the shop counters.

"Ayame! What—"

"Good afternoon," the redhead greeted, "Miss Hikada."

Kagome's head jerked. In the center of the room and dressed elegantly stood a very confident Kikyo Hikada. She was wearing an expensive sundress and a straw hat. She took a step closer in her high heels, smiling politely, and the twenty-year old gulped. What was she doing here? Her boyfriend—now _fiancé_, as everyone said, tabloids and Sango included—was Kaede's most cherished customer, not her!

"Hello," the model replied. "I know for a reason that this is where the bouquets my fiancé sends me come from," she spoke in a suave tone.

"That's right," Ayame said and she could hear her friend's heart as it started to beat faster.

"I would like to order a bouquet myself," Kikyo announced, "and send it to him." She took another step closer, her dark eyes briefly scanning Kagome's figure. "With a love note, of course. You don't mind, do you?"

"We don't," the wolf demoness replied. "Do we, Kagome?"

The raven-haired girl shook her head.

"It will be our pleasure, Miss Hikada," Ayame told the soon-to-be wife of Inuyasha Takahashi in a professional tone that was unlike her. She was lazy and kinky and rude, but she would show that supermodel her place! What was it with those rich people treating her best friend like shit? The wolf demoness knew that the bad guy was Takahashi himself but since he wasn't there….

Before Kikyo could spit another venomous sentence, the entrance door was slammed open, only to reveal a tall young man with brown hair who was carrying far too many boxes to actually walk in properly. "Good morning, ladies! I have a delivery for our favorite granny—Kagome?"

The poor girl thought she was going to swallow her tongue. "Hojo?" she whispered as she recognized the baby blue eyes that were currently staring at her.

"I knew we'd meet again!" the young man exclaimed, spreading his arms and letting Kaede's box fall on the ground.

Kikyo winced at the noise and Kaede gasped.

"This is destiny!" Hojo continued.

"…Or, your job," Kagome countered.

"Kagome, I-I…" The delivery boy took a deep breath. "I'm going to ask you out!" he announced the world, laughing nervously.

Ayame rolled her eyes. The revolution could wait until lover boy was done. Flipping her cell phone open, she speed-dialed her fiancé who, for once, answered after two beeping sounds instead of four. "Hey, cutey? Yeah. About our guest list…"

* * *

**Word counts:** 979; 639

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

**riya:** I take way too long to update but I have patient fans? Well… Opposites attract? Glad you liked the twist, though.

**Ruthe-La:** Engaged? Yes. Na-ha-ha.

**Mika:** The let's-get-married part wasn't something I had planned, in honesty. But Mystery Man is definitely going to show up again, darling!

**madelein:** Maybe Kagome should do just that. But I don't think their relationship was anywhere close to any kind of friendship, so….

* * *

**A/N:** Three updates in a row. I hope I made it up to you, my lovely readers. Please understand that I have my final exam in a month, thus I won't be updating. I'll be stuffing myself with muffins then doing sit-ups so that I look good in bikinis for this summer… Right after the graduation exam. Anyway, have faith in me; I'm not giving up any of my stories. Thank you!


	19. The Better Half

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter._

* * *

_**The Better Half**_

She was living a pure nightmare.

"… And then I thought we could go and watch a movie, but to be perfectly honest I'm not so much into that kind of entertainment. I love drama, for example. Do you like plays? We have to tell each other the truth if we really want to have a relationship—I-I mean… _that_ kind of, uh, relationship… And… Kagome? You still there?"

_Unfortunately, I am…_ "Hojo, I'm sorry. I'll call you back. You don't mind, right? I still have some work to do and—"

"Kagome," the young man whined. "Work? Seriously? It's half past eight and it's _late_," he stressed.

This guy was worse than her own mother. "I have no other choice. Later." She hung up.

Grabbing the ridiculously large and heavy bouquet she was supposed to deliver, Kagome silently got out of Kaede's car. She didn't bother locking it; she would back in a few minutes anyway.

Kagome moved on autopilot. She had been doing this for two years—she was the delivery girl and an unlucky cupid who worked hard for two idiots that were positive about their love for each other. She rolled her eyes. Sure. Send your girlfriend red roses twice a week for years and see the difference.

Well, if anything, supermodel Kikyo was now the one to send the flowers.

The raven-haired girl scrunched her nose. In honesty, she knew nothing about love and dating and long-lasting relationships. She had been kissed a few times when she was younger, had had one boyfriend at most and then, there was Hojo. He was the closest being to a man. And an extremely boring one.

She had listened to Ayame and Sango's advice, which consisted in _giving him a chance_. Well, he literally screwed the first one. Date number two could wait a few weeks at least.

Kagome entered the incredibly tall building, waving at the security. These bad-ass guys were surely used to her quick midnight visits! She smiled as she saw that Sango was chatting with an unknown girl at the reception desk. She really wondered why Inuyasha had hired so many guards when there was absolutely nothing they could do. Who would try anything against a toilet paper firm? Shrugging, Kagome stepped inside the elevator. The faster she got to Inuyasha's office, the faster she would get home.

All she had to do was to drop the bouquet Kikyo had ordered in front his office door and leave. Surprise, surprise?

* * *

Shit.

He wasn't the the last to leave that night. Shit, shit, shit.

Inuyasha stared at his reflection in the men's bathroom. He would have to use one of the many back doors of the office building. Miroku and Sango often told him that no one would ever recognize him as the CEO with his black hair and brown eyes, but he preferred to listen to his paranoid side.

Washing his hands, Inuyasha silently cursed to himself for being late again. Kikyo expected him to be there for dinner.

With her mother.

Inuyasha winced as he opened the door. Maybe he _did_ want to be late. It was hard enough to listen to Kikyo's constant ramble, so adding her mother's was definitely not something he would en—

Loud gasp. Stumble.

"Sorry, I—"

_Ouch._

He didn't plan on getting someone's elbow in his face for the evening. _No. Fucking. Dinner. _He already was against the whole idea of meeting Kikyo's parents while he was completely human… Showing up with a black eye? Totally out of the question.

"I am so sorry," a familiar voice repeated. "I wasn't paying attention and—"

"Kagome?" Inuyasha blinked.

Her jaw dropped.

Why did she seem shocked?

"You-you…"

And there, she blushed. She should have been yelling at him. She usually did whenever she came across him.

"You remembered my name…?"

_Why would I suddenly forget it?_ Oh, right. Human night.

…

Human night!

"…I did?" he muttered nervously. "Of course I did! What brings you here?"

She offered him a genuine smile. "Always the same. Bouquets, deliveries…" She chuckled. "I was about to leave anyway."

Inuyasha nodded. Her smile was slightly contagious. "Need a ride?" he offered.

She absentmindedly nodded and didn't make a single comment as they used a particular elevator and discreetly exited the office building going through an unknown door that lead to the parking lot. Oh, the amazing-and-damn-expensive Ferrari, again. It suited him so well. Kagome kept staring at him. This time though, she would get to know what his name was.

"Where to?" Inuyasha asked, pretending he didn't know where she actually lived.

"The Higurashi Shrine. You couldn't remember that, eh?" the young woman asked in a teasing voice.

He nearly choked on air. "Well, it's been quite some time… Over a month, maybe?" _Is she flirting with me?_ He watched as she nodded. She was still smiling and wow—why didn't she look at him _that_ way more often? He would show her every single night how much he remembered about her. _Wait, where did _that_ come from? _She was the one with a crush here! He never had a crush on anyone.

Maybe on Kikyo, once.

"Did you know Inuyasha Takahashi's getting married?" Kagome softly asked, looking outside the window as he drove.

"Telepathic much?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Forget it. Yeah, I knew. You going?"

She burst out laughing. "Are you serious? Why would I?"

_Yes, why would she?_ Blah, and to think that he was planning on sending an invitation…. "Well, with all those deliveries and the flowers and the bouquets and—"

"Are _you _going?"

_Damn it._ What was it? Curiosity or flirting? Nah, Kagome was too shy and anyway, he had to get real; even if she was actually flirting, it wasn't with _him_—well, technically yes, but she didn't know it. She didn't like him—the other _him_.

And she was right not to. He was an asshole. She said it, Sesshomaru said it—_No thinking about Lord Eyeshadow._

"I'm not so sure," he whispered.

Inuyasha stopped the car in front of the shrine steps, as always, and waited for Kagome to get out. He knew she was still staring at him and even though it wasn't exactly disturbing, it didn't make him feel at ease. What if she recognized him? No, if the resemblance was that obvious, she would have figured out his little lie already. So what was she doing?

"Kagome?" He turned to look at her and was rewarded with another sweet smile.

"Thank you," she said. "But you know, there is something really strange with you," Kagome confessed.

_Fuck._

"I have no idea of who you are and yet it's the second time I let you give me a ride home. It's like I knew you." She blushed. "Sorry," she quickly added. "I must sound really cheesy right now."

Inuyasha opened his mouth only to shut it and open it again. "I-I…" Flirting or not flirting? Shy Kagome or bold Kagome?

_Did she unmask me or am I still safe?_

"Sorry—"

"I'm no psycho," he blurted and he immediately regretted it.

Kagome raised an eyebrow. Then laughed. And laughed hard.

"That's not what I meant, uh…" God, how he hated being a hundred percent human! "Look, you're home, I'm a nice guy," he kept talking even though the delivery girl was still laughing at him, "so you don't have to worry because I like you."

Kagome fell silent. Her eyes were on him again and he didn't know who would be the one to faint first. He was going to die from embarrassment while she was blushing so hard one could think she was about to explode.

"I mean, I don't—not like _that—_"

"Goodnight," she muttered, quickly getting out of the car.

Nope, Kagome wasn't flirting. She was definitely shy. Lowering his window, Inuyasha called her name and she slowly approached. He grabbed her wrist and she leaned forward, deciding that not to look him in the eye would be the best.

"Goodnight," he whispered, leaning in, his thumb gently caressing the back of her hand. "And ask Santa a car for Christmas," he added with a mocking smile before waving and starting the car.

Her lips curving up, Kagome silently thanked Mr. Mystery Man for his attempt at humor. Ah, crap! She had been so busy mistaking his explanation for a confession that she totally forgot to ask for his name. He was right about the car thing though.

The car thing.

The car.

_Kaede's car…_

Kagome's eyes widened. "Oh my God, I am so fired!"

* * *

**Word counts:** 413; 1,010

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

_Thank you all for the lovely reviews that keep the story going; **xXKimiko SakakiXx**, **Charli2006**, **LoVe23**, **kaitlynpope77**, **HlorkexD**, **moonfaerie326**, **riya**, **lady misery**, **Forget Me Not**, **Mika Huntress**, **kittychic0895**, **coconut-forever**, **WitchyGirl99**, **madelein**, **Rayn Lake**, **BGuate224**, **MalachiteFlames**, **Jusenkyo** and **Nyony's Echo**._

* * *

**A/N:** I'm passing out this time too. I have to stop doing that. Anyway, something strange happened the other day and you probably don't care but I received this review for **Uncontrollable **with someone telling me that even though it was a great story, they couldn't keep reading it because of the momentary InuKik in it. Am I that frustrating, lol?


	20. This Too Shall Not Pass

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter._

* * *

_**This Too Shall Not Pass**_

Twenty-nine and a half days later, as he tried to hid behind a large, oak wood counter, Inuyasha Takahashi muttered a splendid, "Fuck…."

His head was spinning. Damn it, he wanted to vomit. He cracked one eye open, a golden iris turning dark brown, and watched as the claws on his fingers disappeared. Just. Great. And he could barely hear a thing.

Resting his back against the kitchen counter, Inuyasha cursed himself. His bastard of a brother might have been right after all; he was whipped. There was no other explanation as to why he had agreed on showing up at a freaking party when he was one hundred percent human. Rubbing his face with his hands, Inuyasha slowly came to the conclusion that he was just a damned coward. Saying no couldn't be _that_ difficult, or could it?

And telling the truth wasn't that hard too, or was it?

"Inuyasha, I know you're here. Hiding."

_Shit._

"Did you guys play hide and seek when you were kids?"

_Double shit. What is Miroku doing here?_

"Hmph. I must have heard wrong."

"Oh, come on, Sesshomaru! We could be brothers too."

"You want to die."

"Look, I'll count up to twenty and you'll just have to hide and then—"

"Inuyasha, I don't know what you're doing behind that kitchen counter, but your guests are wondering where Kikyo's _fiancé_ actually is," the dog demon stressed.

The CEO stood up slowly, swallowing hard. He was never nervous. This had to be an exception. "Tell them I'm sick."

Miroku rolled his eyes and the half-demon-turned-human still didn't understand why he was acting concerned. They weren't friends, for fuck's sake. "Sure. Because your soon-to-be wife is _so_ going to appreciate that."

Inuyasha's brow twitched. "You!" he exclaimed, grabbing his poor employee by the collar of his shirt. "Did you really have to bring _her_ here?" he spat angrily.

Sesshomaru Takahashi watched the scene in silence. Not that he was curious in any way.

"Who? Kikyo?" the violet-eyed man asked stupidly.

"Kagome."

"Kagome?"

"Yes, Kagome."

"Oh."

The full demon who had his arms crossed over his chest was now intrigued. "Who is Kagome?"

Miroku closed his eyes, humming quietly. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru briefly exchanged looks, the now human CEO slowly releasing the poor guy and waited.

And waited.

The dog demon wondered what he was still doing with these two furious idiots, when his little brother snapped.

"Well?"

"Well," Miroku repeated, faking meditation. "The invitations that your girlfriend—sorry, that your _fiancée _has sent, well, they stipulated we could bring any close friend of yours. Why are you acting like you don't want her here—"

"—I _don't _want her here—!"

"—after all the shit you and your supermodel girl have put her through with your flower crap, the late night deliveries and damn it, Inuyasha, don't you remember the night you got her drunk?" Miroku yelled in his face.

It was Sesshomaru's turn to snap. "You got a girl drunk, you irresponsible _whelp_?"

Inuyasha's jaw dropped. What the hell? Why were these two assholes lecturing him anyway? What did they know, huh? Freeing himself from his half-brother's grip on his shoulder, he took a step back and breathed heavily. "You two… You don't understand." He loosened his tie, ignoring the death glares he was receiving.

Miroku was about to speak when Sesshomaru cut him. "Inuyasha, I don't care. Kikyo wanted me to _fetch_ you because you are being rude. There are barely twenty people in that living room—close friends and family. What are you afraid of?" He scoffed. "You are the one who wanted to get married, stupid. It is no one's fault if Kikyo chose tonight of all times for the engagement party; you should have said something."

That last sentence hit Inuyasha like a ton of bricks. _But… that's… not the point, _he wanted to whine out.

"Inuyasha, honey!" Kikyo's voice reached his ears and he shook his head in desperate fear. Didn't she bring him out in a cold sweat in that perfect moment… "Time for your speech!"

He was about to run away using the back door when two pairs of arms captured him, dragging him out of the kitchen and into the living-room…

_No, no! Kagome doesn't know I'm _me_! Please, stooop…!_

* * *

"Hey," a soft voice called.

Chocolate orbs looked up and away from her drink. Sango was wearing a beautiful cocktail dress with matching shoes. Dark purple was her color that night. She looked lovely. Smiling brightly, the brunette sat next to her on the leather couch.

"Everything okay there, Kagome?"

The delivery girl nodded. "I just… feel a bit out of place, I guess."

"I can tell that by the way you're wearing this pretty blue dress and… sneakers," Sango joked. Her friend didn't laugh.

"I have no heeled shoes. Besides, I don't even know who these people are, so what do I care?" Kagome turned to face her, "I'm here only because you and Miroku insisted on going."

The brunette shrugged. "I don't know a lot of people neither. Miroku and I, well… We've come because we have known Inuyasha for a long time, working with him and not only for him. And if he feels flattered maybe we'll soon be earning a raise," Sango stuck her tongue out.

The raven-haired girl smiled weakly. "I didn't know what his face looked like until a few months ago."

"But you've been working for him for a long time too," the older woman offered.

"Kaede does. I'm just… I don't know."

Sango frowned. "Are you feeling okay?" Kagome… Could she be that affected? Ever since she showed up on that rainy day, complaining about Inuyasha's behavior, Sango had suspected a developing relationship between her boss and her friend, even though it should be considered as ridiculous. They were incompatible. And yet, Kagome's reactions were mostly… interesting.

"Ayame is getting married in a few months."

…Not the answer Sango was expecting. "Oh, r-really? So soon…" Damn, had she been wrong the whole time?

"Yeah, she said she was lucky," Kagome said bitterly.

"With, uh, what's his name again…"

"Koga."

"Yeah. Koga…" Sango chewed on her lower lip. Kagome was… feeling lonely? Really, she wasn't heart-broken by the fact that Inuyasha was getting married?

Sango was so caught up in her thoughts that she nearly missed her friend's raged cry. She immediately stood up when Kagome spilled her drink on the fine carpet—Kikyo's father was going to have a stroke…. The brunette didn't know what the whole commotion was about until the future groom and bride began their arguing ritual. Sango almost smiled when she heard Inuyasha tell both Miroku and his older brother to literally _fuck off_.

"You said you were fine with having the engagement party this particular night," the black-haired beauty complained in a hushed tone that everyone could actually hear.

"The whole act is ridiculous; your parents are fully aware that you are marrying a half-demon so let's just stop pretending I look completely human every day of the week!" Inuyasha whispered back, glancing around and trying not to pay attention to the curious looks he was receiving.

"What are you trying to tell me, Inuyasha?"

_There she is._

"Inuyasha?" he heard his fiancée repeat.

_She saw me._

"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru spoke quietly.

_What do I do now?_

"Inu—"

"Kikyo," he called softly. "I'm really sorry…" The CEO held the young woman's hand firmly and gave her no warning when he released it and finally rushed towards the front door.

* * *

**Word counts:** 710; 541

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_**Acknowledgments**_

**Mika:** Does this answer your questions about the wedding? I'm giving a few hints. And thank you for your concern! But the whole passing out thing is just related to a previous lack of sleep.

**riya:** Thank you! And sorry for the late update. I wasn't home so no computer.

**adrian:** I _am _going to finish this story, lol. What made you think otherwise?

**Ruthe-La:** I'm not sure whether this chapter makes Inuyasha a better person or not… I think, definitely not. And Kagome's not screwed… yet! Thank you my darling for your comments!

* * *

**A/N:** Writing this story is like taking a step forward, then two backwards. I can't stop accelerating things then suddenly press the 'pause' button. Must be confusing. Hm.

Deal with it.


	21. I Ought Just Stick to Another Man

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter._

* * *

_**I Ought Just Stick to Another Man***_

She was a real mess.

She couldn't stop the sniffing, the crying, the running mascara—nothing. And her hair, that was always so perfect, so straight, so _neat_, wasn't so glamorous anymore from all the pulling. The worst part of it was that she had no tissue and she desperately needed to blow her nose.

Puffy brown eyes glared at the suitcase that contained the bare minimum; a few clothes, a toilet bag and tennis shoes. Cash, credit cards and documents were in her purse, along with her cell phone. Yes, she had everything she needed.

Except tissues.

Thinking about tissues made her think about the reason why she needed those and thinking about said reason made her cry even more. It was ridiculous because she was a young woman—a _beautiful_ young woman with a wonderful career and amazing parents, even though they weren't exactly 'demon-friendly'….

Demons. _Sniff._

Right. That was the source of the whole problem. The half-demon boyfriend. Well, _ex-_boyfriend, actually.

And that was when she heard it. The sound of hesitant footsteps nearing the bedroom—_their_ bedroom. Well, _ex-_bedroom, actually.

_Strange. I didn't even hear him come inside._ Was there any open window?

"Kikyo?" He cleared his throat. "You leaving?"

She nodded but didn't want to turn around and face him. He probably already knew she had been crying. He didn't need to see it as well.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

The tall woman snorted. "You called the engagement off, Inuyasha. I think that's a good reason."

"But—"

"Don't speak," she cut in. "Please, don't. I already took care of everything. If you're selling the penthouse, it's fine. I don't want my share of it and my mom and her lawyer will know what to do," she explained. "But if you're not…" She shrugged. "I'm still moving."

Inuyasha sighed loudly and Kikyo was sure he was running his fingers through his silver mane—that gorgeous silver mane. They were so perfect together. Why did he propose if he didn't mean it? Didn't he know that she loved receiving the same flowers with the same note attached to the bouquet every two days? After each one of their fights?

She shook her head. "You're not even romantic, Inuyasha," she laughed bitterly, her plane ticket in her hands. "I don't even know why I was so into you."

"I am sorry?"

Why did he sound so confused? "You are married to your job. You don't want me showing up at work. You avoid me during the day… and then you come home because you still want to be with me but you are too tired to go out to a restaurant so it's instant noodles." She paused, rolling her eyes. "Then we fight because I feel like you don't love me the way I love you and you just storm out, go back to your office—I bet you can even shower there. And the following day it's red roses."

Kikyo slowly turned around, her puffy eyes staring into his golden orbs. He looked surprised, sorry even. The CEO seemed to be speechless.

Right. The _CEO_. Her eyes narrowed. "Now that I think of it, how could I even date someone who sells toilet paper?"

Inuyasha's jaw dropped and she could see it his eyes; he didn't know whether to laugh or feel insulted. "That's not true," he countered. "That's not all we sell. Malls have supermarkets too and supermarkets—"

"—sell toilet paper," she finished, a smile on her lips. "And it's all yours. Still, no one told you to put your name on the wrapping."

"Sesshomaru said he didn't have the time to think about another brand name when he bought out the Softy-and-something company," the half-demon tried to defend himself. "I think it was Softy and Cuddly, I'm not sure sure, but…" He glanced up at her and chewed the inside of his cheek. "… This irrelevant conversation is definitely not helping you feel better." He held his hands out and tried not to sound patronizing, "Kikyo, look, I am sorry about what happened back there and—"

"Shut up," she commanded, finally glaring at him. "I'm going to London. This," she showed him her one-way ticket, "is getting me to London Heathrow. Just… Do you have any idea how much I hate England? I guess you don't since you never listened to my evening ramble." _Insert more glaring._ "I just hate it, you know… I don't understand British English. I don't get a word those people say and—"

"Kikyo, please," Inuyasha tried to keep her from blabbing some more.

"I told you; shut up. Right now you're British to me. I don't understand a word you say so don't bother telling me you're sorry," she concluded in an overly convinced tone.

Fuzzy ears dropped. There was a moment of silence between the two of them until the dark-haired model spoke again.

"I had fun, you know."

The hint of a smile worked its way to his lips, then to his eyes. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

"_Baaah!_"

She had been at it for three hours.

She came home as soon as the party ended—and it ended so badly that Sango accepted going on a date with Miroku, which was definitely saying something. She only had three things in mind; her favorite _Doraemon_** pajamas, cookie dough ice cream and an old rerun of _Goong_***.

Oh, and tissues.

The TV was still on and she was holding a huge spoon in her hand, the kind of spoon her grandmother would feed her with. Well, she did it herself.

She was in the middle of blowing her now raw and red nose when she heard her mother call her from the bedroom.

"Kagome, dear, would you please turn down the volume? All of those people crying are giving me a headache. Thank you—and goodnight!"

The raven-haired girl wanted to shout back that the TV was just fine and that she was the brokenhearted one but when she opened her mouth to speak, she realized that the melted ice cream inside of it was going to make it hard for her. All that came out was an incredible mixture of, "IwouldwawawaliketobuwuwuI'mdaonedatsnawfine." _Sniff. Sniff. Sniff._

She really wanted to stop. Her eyes were sore and puffy and her nose hurt and she was running out of tissues but she simply couldn't. She had had that huge crush on that handsome guy who just turned out to be the first-class asshole she absolutely hated.

And liked.

Liked to hate.

_Ugh. _The delivery girl didn't seem to be able to figure _that_ out. Kagome knew half-demons had their moments… their period-like periods. Was it so hard to tell her the truth? That the CEO and the ass-kissing employee were one and only?

_He did on purpose._ Anger mixed with sadness and more tears blurred her vision. Kagome stabbed her ice cream with her very dangerous grandma spoon. "Bastard," she muttered over and over again.

Unfortunately, her murder plans were shattered by the ringing of her cell phone.

"Hello," she answered, her voice shaky.

_**"**__****__Kagome_? Are you alright, child?" Kaede, of course. It was her day off, too. _**"I didn't get the chance to talk to you at the engagement party…"**_

Chocolate orbs looked up at the ceiling. "You call that a party…"

She could hear the old lady sigh. _**"Anyway, I just wanted to know when I am supposed to get my car back. It's been quite a few days."**_

Kagome's eyes widened in panic and she stopped breathing. "Uh, I-I… I'm so sorry… I got to go. I really… need to throw up right now."

She quickly hung up and ten minutes later, a kilo of ice cream, a dozen of appetizers along with gastric juices were flushed down the toilet.

* * *

**Word counts:** 864; 469

* * *

_*"Lovefool" © 1997 The Cardigans._

_**Doraemon © 1969 – 1996 Hiroshi Fujimoto._

_***Goong © 2006 MBC._

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

_**Love 23**, **BGuate224**, **xsachi**, **coconut-forever**, **Jusenkyo**, **Creature-of-the-grid**, **Theloverofthe3inu's4ever**, **PurpleTuesday**, , **HlorkexD**, **Ruthe-La**, **xXKimiko SakakiXx**, **riya**, **lele**, **Daichilover**, **vampire-fetish15**, **Mika**, **moonfaerie326 **(I _do_ miss you, where are you? Argh!), **omica21**, **Dark Angel Winry Rockbell**, **Charli2006**, **WitchyGirl99**, **Kint0**, **WITCHBLADE86**, **Rayn Lake**, **LovesDepp**, **tearsneverfade**, **adrian **and **nightfalcon222 **(Hi, new reader. I appreciated your constructive criticism and hope to hear more from you!)… You guys need to stop loving me. Or this story, whatever. (Just kidding. Don't ever stop!)_

* * *

**A/N:** On with the funniest parts that are to come, though I don't even know when the next update is going to be since law school starts on Monday. I may need some time and to get a life. If school work doesn't kill my muse, I shall update on weekends.


	22. The Same Old Story All Over Again

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter._

_

* * *

_

_**The Same Old Story All Over Again**_

"Delivery at four this afternoon!" Kagome yelled from the back-store, putting down the cordless phone. Another client had called and they were clearly overbooked.

Spring was coming to an end and just like every year, the shop popularity seemed to increase. Grandmothers and housewives came to order and-slash-or buy decorative plants, having nothing better to do, romantic guys and cheating husbands wanted large bouquets of roses and orchids whereas engaged couples had Kaede and her two employees working overtime for their weddings. Three different ceremonies had been scheduled for that time of the year and that meant three different decorating styles and an incredible amount of work for the old owner and the two young women. At least, Kaede's Flower Boutique was back to life, which was a blessing considering that their most loyal client had deserted them.

It had already been a few weeks since Inuyasha Takahashi broke up with his supermodel girlfriend-slash-fiancée. The incident not only affected their oh-so-important public image, but also the shop earnings. So far, it seemed that the mass media were the only ones to live off it. Kaede, however, didn't appear worried and neither did Ayame, although it was safe to say that the wolf demoness rarely worried about anything. She, too, was one of those future brides who were currently planning their wedding.

Kagome hadn't heard about Inuyasha ever since she saw him at his failed engagement party. Everybody who attended said party talked about it—about how strange it had been to see the CEO on his human night. Granted, not a lot of people had actually attended the party, there had been a few close friends and family, but it still was a topic that had people gossiping all day long.

Kagome talked about it too.

Sango, one of Inuyasha's security guards, often hinted at her infatuation with the prominent CEO, to which she constantly answered negatively. There was no infatuation. There was no broken-hearted delivery girl. It was true that in a matter of a few months she had come to know the half-demon who had always pestered her with his silly delivery requests. Everything had gone so fast, too. She had continued to dislike him but also spent a great amount of time with him; they had had lunch together, gotten drunk together… It was in those moments, when her creativity was at her best and she was peacefully working, that Kagome reflected the most on her feelings. She had never minded being his friend and she had never minded his horrendously boring relationship to Kikyo. All she had wanted and the only thing she had asked him from the very beginning had been Mr. Mystery Man's name. Of course, he had always found a way to avoid talking about him.

His human half was her Mystery Man.

She had cried about that. _Now that I think of it, it was a stupid matter to cry for. But still…._

Setting her latest (and maybe slightly extravagant as well) flowery creation on the large wooden table in the back-store—that was really a tiny greenhouse—Kagome came to the solid conclusion that the reason why she had been so upset upon discovering the man of her dreams' true identity was the fact that she finally had something to mind. Kikyo she did not mind, Inuyasha she did not mind, but _sharing_?

She minded that, dammit! No, she had never asked for anything fancy, she had never wanted to be some kind of a supermodel, she had never wanted a rich bastard as a boyfriend, so why did the cute—yet ass-kissing—employee had to be one of the…things…she could not have? He was a part of Inuyasha and that also meant a part of Kikyo's property.

She would have never been so delusional, had Inuyasha told her the truth from the start.

"Inuyasha, you moronic moron," Kagome muttered under her breath. "I truly hope you go after Kikyo, wherever that…skinny bitch…is right now…and get yourself lost in the middle of the Sahara desert!" she cursed out loud. "Yeah, I hope your plane crashes in some dusty place and—"

"Kagome," Ayame interrupted as she entered the back-store. "When you're done talking to yourself, would you mind come and help me settling some accounts for granny Kaede?" the redhead asked, bored as ever.

_I… have been saying that out loud?_

The young woman followed her friend and co-worker in the main room and sat next to the cash counter, in silence. She watched as Ayame sucked on a huge, multicolored lollipop. _Do demons ever get cavities?_

The girls had just begun dealing with their boss lady's earnings and loans when a customer quietly made his way inside the shop. The only sound that broke the quiet silence was the shrilling sound of the store entrance bell. With too many numbers in her head, Kagome wasn't even going to rush and greet the grandmother/housewife/romantic guy/cheating husband/engaged couple but Ayame's nose twitched and she quickly straightened.

"Um, Kagome?" she whispered, nudging her. "You might want to handle this one yourself."

* * *

He honestly didn't know what the hell he was doing.

His morning had started off all great and normal; all that was on his mind was grabbing a cup of steaming coffee and go to work. He had been in such a good mood he had even decided to use public transportation.

Translation:_ Life was shitty._

It was so shitty that he preferred buying his coffee after some good thirty minutes of lining up in the coffee shop instead of having his secretary, Yura, getting one for him. It was so shitty that he wasn't even excited by the idea of riding his favorite sports car.

It was so shitty that he figured he could use a small trip to Kaede's shop.

Inuyasha hadn't heard of his ex-fiancée ever since she left. Apparently, she had e-mailed some of their so-called friends, telling them how London was actually charming. She still didn't understand British English but she didn't mind anymore. He missed her, sometimes, and wondered what his life would be like from then on. He was still the same—workaholic, friendless and boring—but he had no one to share that lifestyle with. He had even come to miss Miroku—he still pretended they were _not_ friends—but the guy had recently decided he could use a vacation and went to Atlantic City with Sango, much to everyone's surprise.

The half-demon had once found himself at the _Jackie and his Sweeties_ bar, staring at his drink and listening to the many compliments the effeminate bartender was throwing at him.

To put it simply, he was feeling lonely.

Inuyasha had tried to change a few things in his life, like buying some furniture, decorating his mother's old mansion, sending Sesshomaru a couple of viruses—he had even hired Kikyo's chauffeur as his since the young man had decided to quit and now had Sango's sibling working for him.

It was all pointless.

As he entered the flower shop, Inuyasha highly doubted he would be well received. Kaede never minded him, thankfully, and the wolf-demoness barely acknowledged his existence… but what about Kagome? She had seemed so mad when she discovered about his human half. Surely, he couldn't just smile her way and ask her to be his friend again?

He also had another nagging question on his mind but that would _definitely_ have to wait. At least a couple of days.

Inuyasha cleared his throat and Kagome eventually looked his way. She looked surprised; she wasn't expecting him. Fuzzy ears twitched and caught the sound of her breath hitching but then the half-demon noticed the change in her eyes—from surprise to excitement, from excitement to anger and from anger to annoyance.

"Hi," he greeted, inwardly wincing when his voice croaked. _One word and you already sound pussy-whipped._

No answer.

"Kagome?"

Silence.

"Fuck, you could at least buy a vowel, dammit."

That earned him a tiny reaction from the young woman and his ears stood alert. Kagome sighed, rolled her eyes and avoided him. She glanced at the wolf-demoness who was eating some candy and eventually said, "Ayame, tell the obnoxious customer that I do not wish to talk to him."

"Kagome tells the obnoxious customer that you are that she does not wish to talk to you," the redhead dumbly and boringly repeated.

"Kagome," Inuyasha huffed, "I think we should… I dunno, talk, maybe."

"Ayame, tell this arrogant CEO that people like me do not associate to his kind."

"Kagome tells the arrogant CEO that you are that people like her do not associate to your kind." _Licking sounds._

"Why not grab a bite? Your mouth will be so full of WacDonald's goodness that you won't even have to talk!" Inuyasha offered with a sheepish smile.

"Ayame, tell this moron I can go eat WacDonald's goodness _alone_."

"Kagome tells the moron that you are that she can go eat WacDonald's goodness alone."

_These two are seriously getting on my nerves…_ The vein in his forehead throbbing, Inuyasha shouted, "Quit ignoring me, stupid wench, or I'll kill—"

"What's going on here?" Kaede interrupted as she entered the main room, having previously gone to the bathroom. "Inuyasha?"

The half-demon scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. The bemused old hag could piss off, too. "Kagome here won't talk to me."

"My, my," the old woman sighed. "Kagome, talk to Inuyasha," she said, using a motherly tone and arranging a few plants in near the window.

"No," the raven-haired girl insisted. "He's been _way_ too mean to me."

"So _not_ true!" Inuyasha countered. "Come on, let's talk about it…about…_everything_, even, if you want to," he nearly whined.

There was a moment of silence in the room that had suddenly turned into an elementary school playground and Ayame was the one to break it.

"How dense can you be, Kagome? I think your moron is asking you out on a date. It's so obvious why _you_ are still boyfriend-less and why _he_ sucks at relationships," the wolf-demoness pointed out, her lollipop still in her mouth.

Both decided to ignore that statement and Kaede patted Inuyasha's shoulder with a small smile. "Why don't you pick her up at noon tomorrow? It's her day off."

Fighting off a blush that threatened to show, Inuyasha grumbled a positive answer and stormed out, huffing again.

There was another awkward moment of silence before Kagome glanced at Ayame and Kaede, who were both acting as if nothing happened. Her best friend was handing the bills to the boss lady and then went to answer a few e-mails since some orders were sent via their website.

The raven-haired girl pinched her cheek, hard, and muttered a distinct, "Ouch."

"What's going on _now_, you immature baby?" Ayame asked, glaring at the computer screen instead of her. The wolf-demoness heard her friend gulp and waited for another dumb reply.

"Oh my god, Inuyasha Takahashi was really here."

* * *

**Word counts:** 850; 1,007

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_**Acknowledgements (of sorts)**_

_I'd answer you all but for the life of me, I can't even remember whether I already sent review replies or not. So, there. Mentioning __**WitchyGirl99**__, __**xsachi**__, __**Charli2006**__, __**Nyony's Echo**__, __**LovesDepp**__, __**Inuyashite-das-right**__, __**nightshade130**__, __**moonfaerie326**__ (What the hell! We stopped PM-ing!), __**riya**__, __**LunaP**__, __**nightfalcon222**__, __**xXKimiko SakakiXx**__, __**coconut-forever**__, __**Daichilover**__, __**kagome past and present **__(If that was sarcasm, I'm quite offended.), __**BGuate224**__, __**BurnLikeAFlame**__, __**Cagalli Yula Athha Fangirl**__ (I thought I was nuts but then I realized you really did review the same chapter twice, lol), __**Rayn Lake**__, __**Painted Canvas**__, __**katelynhonky**__, __**kagome 313 **__(Wait. Aren't you the author of _My Mr. Sunshine_?) __**Kint0**__, __**AtemsDestinee**__, __**DragonTamer**__, __**Donna the Unicorn**__, **KagomeForever56**._

_And to '__**Unknown**__': I update when I'm able to. I know about some other authors never finishing their stories, I hope that won't happen to me, but if you try writing yourself then maybe you'll understand what the deal with these people is. (Ah, I sound so randomly boring.)_

_

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_

**A/N:** Phew. Massive InuKag starting next chapter. I've been waiting for over a year to get to this part! I just realized how slow I am.


	23. Even Your Daddy Did it to Your Mama

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_Special thanks to my new beta, __**Ruthe-la**__._

_

* * *

_

_**Even Your Daddy Did it to Your Mama***_

The room was so hot that her house must have caught fire.

Why wasn't she leaving? The entire situation felt odd. She was awake but her eyes wouldn't open, as if she were blindfolded—when she really wasn't! She felt so tired, too. What was going on? Where was Mama? Why hadn't anyone come for her yet? She was burning, dammit! She could feel it; the flames were dancing on her skin and the unbearable heat had her head spinning and then, there was that hand—

_Wait a minute. What hand—_whose_ hand?_

"Come on, Kagome, don't let me do all the work," a voice she recognized as Inuyasha's whispered in her ear.

This time, Kagome's eyes shot open. Her house wasn't burning! She wasn't burning! She was just…trapped…in bed with a handsome specimen—a totally naked half-demon for goodness' sake!

_What's going on?_ She mentally panicked as Inuyasha crouched between her parted legs. Seriously, when did that happen? How _could_ she have let that happen? Besides, she was not used to this. She was a virgin. She had always been a virgin. _Should I tell him to stop? He will understand… right?_

"You—want to stop?" Inuyasha snapped. Oh, so he could read her mind now or was she just that obvious?

"Inuyasha, I'm not—"

"This is the third time you tell me you're not ready?"

_Huh?_ "Really?"

The fire was there again, only it was warm, _liquid_ and pooling between her inner thighs. This was just too embarrassing. People should kiss before sleeping together. People should go on several dates before sleeping together.

People shouldn't argue when they were horny.

Grabbing his forelocks, Kagome yanked his head forward, wisely deciding that there was only one way to make it all stop—the fire, her being a virgin, Inuyasha's disturbing pouting…. "Let's make it clear, first-class asshole," she warned, her voice low and her tone commanding, "you take me _now_ and you do it right." The raven-haired delivery girl spread her legs wider, a seductress smile on her lips, before raising her hips to meet him.

Her order was as clear as crystal, apparently, since Inuyasha didn't waste another minute before engulfing himself in her scorching heat. Now _this_ was heaven catching on fire.

_Wait another minute._ She could read his mind now or was he just that obvious? And why the pain she should have felt wasn't there?

With an exquisite groan, Inuyasha thrust forward again and all coherent thought flew out the window of the house that wasn't on fire. Kagome couldn't quite comprehend why she suddenly felt alright—she was neither embarrassed nor confused anymore and it was way better. She focused her senses on Inuyasha's cries, groans and moans, his masculine scent, his hardened nipples and muscles…. A deafening cry escaped her lips and her she shut her eyes.

There. Just a little more…

As if reading her thoughts again, her not-so-favorite half-demon quickened his pace and his clawed fingers found her, torturing her deliciously; he was toying with her nerves—no pun intended—but also seemed determined to get her _there_. She wanted it as much as he did.

"Kagome," he whispered, "Kagome."

He repeated her name a third time and her hips rose, her back arching like a rainbow and her small hands clutching the bed sheets, then his upper arms. She clenched her teeth, furrowed her brows, her cheeks and chest flushed. Her legs tightened around him, mimicking what her inner muscles were doing and she could feel him swelling—

"Kagome…"

His voice seemed distant, yet she could still feel him down there…

"Kagome!"

"Why is your voice so feminine, first-class asshole…" she mumbled.

"Kagome!" Her eyes shot open—again—and she sat up in her bed. "It's noon already. Why are you still in bed?" She heard her mother say through the door. "I thought you told me to wake you up. Well, I'm trying, dear." The twenty-year-old gulped. "Are you awake this time?" Her mother continued, though she seemed to be walking away and towards her own room.

"Y-Yes, Mama, thanks," she managed to croak out. Glancing from left to right, making sure _no one_ was in there, Kagome tried to swallow all the pent-up frustration she currently felt. Utterly embarrassed, she put her hand inside her pajama pants, her fingers timidly making their way to her sex.

She was wet.

Kagome gulped again. This was so not her first wet dream.

"I did so not have a wet dream about Inuyasha, of all people." Crawling under her comforter, she wanted to die.

Eventually, she realized she actually had a date—with _him_—that day.

* * *

No one was saying a single word.

It was a strange situation, to say the least. Inuyasha had come to pick her up in time when she was still blowing her hair dry. Then there they were, sitting in his amazing-and-damn-expensive Ferrari, and she simply had no idea where they were going.

For a brief moment, Kagome wondered if that was just a friendly date, a heart-to-heart date meant for apologies and such, or a date-_date_. She felt deeply confused; their conversation from the previous day had yet to sink in and not to mention that her—_cough—_dream—_cough—_was still fresh on her mind…and panties.

_Stop, Kagome, stop! He could smell heroin faster than a trained dog if you put some in _there_ and what's really happening is worse than hiding drugs,_ she scolded herself. It was ridiculous, too. Supposing she was attracted to the half-demon—which she clearly wasn't, of course—that didn't mean she had to be daydreaming and fantasizing about him. He probably wasn't all that good in bed. She had recently read something related to that in fact. They said workaholic people put so much energy in their work they are totally spent when it comes to their sex lives.

Inuyasha had to be one of those people.

"So," his voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Don't you want to know where we are going?" he asked, turning the radio on. There was just so much silence one could endure.

"As long as you're not driving out of the country to kill me…" Kagome rolled her eyes.

"I'd take you on a fishing trip then," he grinned boyishly. "Japan is surrounded by water," he instructed her as if she had never gone to school. "So I'd just knock you out and dump you in the ocean."

Kagome's eyes widened in horror for a second but she quickly shrugged it off. She was _not_ impressed.

… _and I'm looking to my left, and I'm looking to my right;_

_Everybody seems to be so much more alive—_uhh_, love is in the air, cotton candy everywhere;_

_Your sweetness makes me—_mhmmmmhhmm_…_

Kagome frowned upon hearing the music; it wasn't as if she could actually understand whatever Ms. Cheesy was singing, yet something was still rubbing her the wrong way. Chocolate orbs glanced at Inuyasha but he looked like he couldn't care less; he was focused on driving and his golden eyes were glued to the road.

_I'll give you all my la la but don't you tell my Mama 'cause I don't need no drama in my life. So let's hop into your car, take me somewhere far so we can do the la la la all night…!_

It only took a second for Kagome to glare at the car radio and turn it off, almost growling. Inuyasha arched an eyebrow and chuckled as he took the highway. "What," he laughed, "you don't like European music? It's not like you understand any other language besides Japanese."

She scoffed. "Like _you_ could understand English anyway."

"I'm a business man, dummy, and a half-demon. I had plenty of time to learn English since I had to," he countered.

Kagome resisted the urge to stick out her tongue at him. "Well, in any case, there was just something about that song that irked me, I guess."

"You guess," the CEO repeated with a genuine smile. He had missed this annoying girl.

As they reached their destination, Kagome straightened up in her seat, curiosity at its best. They were at his mother's residence—that really was his now, since she was dead—and she couldn't even imagine the reason why he had brought her there. The whole place was a museum in itself, from the outstanding gardens to the richly decorated rooms and polished hard wood floors.

He had already brought her there once and Kagome didn't have fond memories of that episode. Her feet still ached at the thought. _Jerk._

She silently followed him inside, her eyes scanning the walls—and just like the first time she had been there, she stared in awe—as they crossed the first floor only to reach the incredibly beautiful gardens.

The gardens.

_What…?_ "Inuyasha, I don't see the point—"

"Shut up, will ya?"

He sat down nervously and motioned her to do the same. She made a face; the grass was wet and she didn't want her white pants to end up green. Oh, well. It wasn't as if her clothes were expensive or her sense of fashion fancy. Her butt could look vegetarian all right.

"So…" Inuyasha started, avoiding eye contact. "I… kind of wanted to, uh…"

"Apologize?" the raven-haired girl pressed.

"Yeah. I mean, last time we came here, I kind of…"

"Dumped me in a closet?"

"Yeah…" He scratched the nape of his neck, his fuzzy ears dropping. "I'll never do that again—I mean, it's… bad?"

"Sort of," Kagome shrugged. _Seriously, we came all the way here to… _"It's not like that kind of situation happens every day but you were—_are_ pretty stupid."

"Hey—never mind." His eyes collided with his lap and he crossed his legs Indian-style. "Anyway, about my human night…" He felt it as Kagome turned her head to him and continued, "I never told you because, well, when we first met, I thought I'd never see you again. Then, when we did meet again, I thought you had figured out but when I realized you didn't I-I was relieved, I guess, since there aren't so many people who know about it." Inuyasha swallowed and finally looked her in the eye. Kagome was frowning—she seemed to be doing that a lot that day—and waiting. "We kept meeting and seeing each other and I never thought…"

… _gulp._

"… never thought…"

Dammit, her heart was beating faster now.

"I never thought we'd end up being friends. So… sorry."

Kagome's lips parted and she let out a tiny, "Oh." Friends. Friend is the right word. Right. _Right._

Inuyasha growled then, his clawed fingers drumming against his knee. "That's all you have to say? I just apologized to you!"

"Yeah, well, took you long enough!"

"What?"

"Wash your ears, doggy."

"Wha—Wash your arousal away," he grumbled.

Kagome flushed red and secretly prayed for lightening to strike her. She wanted to die. Badly. The uncomfortable silence eventually faded away, replaced by a calm and almost pleasant silence. Surely a friendly date could have been more interesting and it wasn't over yet, but Kagome had trouble making it past his previous comment.

If only she could break his nose.

"Hey…" she whispered, still blushing a soft shade of pink. "Do you… want to…"

It was Inuyasha's turn to gulp and he looked away, an awkward feeling making its way to his guts.

"… play tag? I mean, I doubt there are video games in this outrageous castle, so…"

"You want to _play tag_?" the half-demon asked with a scoff. "You are so lame."

Kagome stood up immediately, her eyes flashing with anger. "I am lame? Did you hear yourself when you stuttered your apology?"

"I don't stutter!" Inuyasha practically shouted at her. "And you better run as fast as you deliver flowers, or else you're dead."

"I am so scared."

"Run, I tell you," he repeated, playfully cracking his clawed fingers.

As they run around until their stomachs growled, they never noticed the camera that was pointed at them and not even Inuyasha's ears reacted to the sound of pictures being taken.

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**Word counts: **781; 1,282

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_*"Lala" © 2009 Oceana._

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**

_**Acknowledgements**_

**Mika:** Haha, I honestly love writing the non-main characters, so that's probably why. I don't want them to be only a part of the décor… and they're here for comical relief, too! Thank you for reading!

**riya:** There you go and thank you!

**D.L.M:** Thank you. I hope this wasn't too late and I'm sorry if I sounded offended…? There are just two things I'm touchy about: updates and InuKik-related comments.

_(no name):_ Kagome, anorexic? Damn, you just had me laughing like crazy! Did she really sound anorexic? I guess with all the puking… but the crying is just part of her character. Hm. And I guess the puking too. What a fragile little thing.

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**A/N:** Dun, dun, dun! Lame attempt at a cliffhanger. Can you seriously blame me? I am tired. Seven more chapters to go, my dear readers! Feedback is more than welcome.


	24. Love is Nowhere in The Air

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter.

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_

_**Love is Nowhere in The Air**_

"This cannot be happening _again_."

"What are you talking about?"

The wolf demoness gave her a blank stare as she dropped the newspaper she had been reading on the table they were sitting at. The _ramen_ store was filled with salesmen and high schoolers, just like every other day of the week, and this was supposed to be the day Kagome finally got to meet her best friend's soon-to-be husband. Needless to say, she had been far more preoccupied with the fact that she made the headlines twice that year.

"I'm talking about _this_," the raven-haired girl threw the newspaper in Ayame's face. "_The unknown girl strikes again: the truth about the Takahashi and Hidaka breakup is revealed!_" Kagome recited, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, do I look like a gold digger or something?"

Ayame glanced at the article with pure disinterest. She kept on chewing on her straw, occasionally drinking her milkshake from it. Kagome groaned in sheer frustration and collapsed on the table, invading both Ayame's and her fiancé's space.

"I am a delivery girl, a florist—I don't steal other girls' boyfriends," she whined pathetically.

"You can steal me anytime," the blue-eyed wolf demon sitting next to Ayame commented with a grin as he went through the article very quickly. "But seriously, I must admit that whoever wrote this article is good."

Kagome's head lifted.

"Yeah," he continued, "they mention your lack of taste for fashion—really, you just can't wear loafers along with beach shorts—but also the fact that this Takahashi bastard may only be dating you because _you_ are the total opposite of a supermodel…and his ex is a model."

"Koga," Kagome gritted her teeth, "we aren't even dating."

"Oh-ho!" the handsome, yet obviously stupid wolf demon cheered. "So _this_ is why you're so upset!"

"Ugh. Men." Ayame shook her head indignantly. Frowning at the empty milkshake cup, she quickly addressed the nearest waitress, "Hey, girlie, what desserts do you have here?"

"Hey, these Takahashi people… Don't they, like, own a chain of superstores?" Koga went on.

Kagome nodded, marveling at the sight of a huge bowl of hot, boiling beef _ramen_ being served to her. "Yeah, they do. I think they're brothers or cousins or whatever." She blew on her _ramen_ to cool it. "Why are you asking?"

"Just wonderin'." The wolf demon was served chicken broth and as soon as Ayame got her _stracciatella_ ice-cream, they went back to discussing their wedding plans.

The twenty year old human girl zoned out.

They weren't dating. Really, they weren't. The only few dates they experimented had been _friendly_ dates, if 'friendly' was a good way to put it. They weren't exactly friends—even if they were, it was a blooming friendship. Technically, nothing was actually happening between them. Inuyasha would text her, order a few bouquets to supposedly decorate his office and they would end up chatting, arguing and eating at the cafeteria. There was no way in hell he broke up with his longtime girlfriend just to eat lunch in fast food restaurants with her. Those journalists had it all wrong.

And if her sense of fashion sucked ass, it was her problem and hers only.

Then again, there were the wet dreams… Not that they particularly mattered but she had once read about the Freudian theory in a psychology magazine while sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's. Apparently, dreams were a subconscious manifestation of repressed sexual and aggressive urges. She was a virgin. Did that mean that she truly was a lioness when it came to slapping monkeys? _Ugh. I shouldn't have watched _The Jungle Book_ last night._

"Hey!" Ayame's empty milkshake cup came to hit her in the face. "Are you even listening to us? We invited you out because you are my best friend _and _my maid of honor so you're supposed to help us with the wedding plans. And all you do is think about that stinky, full-of-money half-demon of yours," the redhead all but growled.

Kagome's mocha eyes widened and she gasped in horror. "I'm _not_ thinking about Inuyasha!"

"You guys are on a first-name basis?" Koga chimed in, lifting his eyebrows. "Wow."

"See!" Ayame quickly added, pointing her index finger at her friend. "She's totally got the hots for him."

Kagome stuttered for a response when her cell phone went off, signaling she had just received a text message. Angrily flipping in open, she completely lost her voice when she read the words, _**'Where are you? It's lunch time and you mentioned some **_**ramen**_** shop—**_**Jinenji's**_**, right? I just parked my car.'**_

"Fuckety fuck!" the raven-haired girl cursed under her breath, glancing around frenetically and hoping to find a solution. _Miracle, miracle, let him get hit by a pole…!_

"Kagome?" Ayame called, mildly concerned. Her friend's face was pale and she was the total opposite of Koga, who was sitting there looking completely relaxed and at ease.

Dark eyes settled on the redhead's ice-cream and Kagome didn't think about it twice. In a matter of seconds, the delivery girl grabbed the dessert and promptly spilled it all over herself—her hair, chest and arms were deliciously covered in chocolate and Ayame's fiancé whistled whereas his beloved whined and ordered another dessert. Kagome paid no mind to it as she heard the shop entrance bell and she immediately crawled on all fours.

"Excuse me Miss," a salesman grunted as she moved between his legs and under his table in an attempt to reach the exit door, "but you're ruining my slacks with all that ice-cream covering you."

"Sorry, I'm sorry, but _shh_!" she whispered and crawled further away as she saw Inuyasha approach Ayame and Koga's table, probably asking them where she went. _Quick, Kagome, quick! You can do it! This nauseating, sweet smell won't cover your scent forever!_ she mentally encouraged herself.

Pinching her nose as she passed a customer with smelly feet, the flower delivery girl gave a cry of triumph when she finally reached the door, ran away and down the street.

Like hell was she going to see Inuyasha before she got to figure out what in the world was wrong with her.

* * *

Such things were meant for magazines and tabloids.

"We've been receiving more and more reports, Sir…"

Who on Earth had the nerve to contact the newspaper?

"… Production is slow, Sir…"

The journalist was using a pseudonym, too…

"Sir, I've also heard the Chinese—"

"Jaken," he interrupted, his deep voice echoing in the room. "Not now."

"Sesshomaru-sama—"

"Get out of my office."

The toad demon knew better than to push his luck with his master-slash-boss-slash-tormenter. It was already the _greatest honor_, working for him twenty-four seven. Dragging his feet—or rather, dragging his paws, Jaken exited Sesshomaru Takahashi's office, wondering what was so special about the headlines that day.

There were several pictures sprawled all over the front page and an elegant eyebrow rose. _Childish._ And they made scandals out of that? Out of people playing…tag? No, there had to be something underneath all that junk. In any case, his irresponsible brother could run around all he wanted, he wouldn't go down with him because they shared the same name. Things could get out of hand.

Golden eyes roamed up and down the front page, then finally settled on the clue that would be enough for him to find the one person he was going to hunt down. On the right corner of the last picture, the tiniest copyright symbol accompanied the name _Kagura Kaze_.

Now that he had the photographer, the reporter was the only one left.

Stretching his legs, Sesshomaru decided it was high time for some good, fur-stroking time.

* * *

**Word counts:** 1,056; 257

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_**Acknowledgments**_

_(no name):_ You're welcome. :) I would also have died if someone told me to wash my arousal. I mean, way to get more obvious.

**Mika:** Yes, The Great Inuyasha playing tag, even though I don't think he is this grand, haha. He's all stuttering and stuff. Aren't we glad that dog demons don't really exist? If anyone could smell anything funny coming from me, I'd never live it down.

**Riya:** So. Fast updates coming this way. (Aren't I always saying that? Bah.)

**bg:** Thanks. :) Sorry if I had you waiting for this.

**xsachi:** Inuyasha is just so smooth with words, we've known that for a while now, haha.

* * *

**A/N:** I have two more chapters coming out. Watch out! I'm really planning on finishing this story as soon as possible. Not that I'm not interested in it anymore, it's just that I know exactly what's going to happen and when, so I want to write it down and be over with it. Let's just hope you're all with me on that :)


	25. Tiptoeing around Drama and Conspiracies

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_Special thanks to my beta, __**Ruthe-la**__._

_This chapter is fully dedicated to my dear friend (who is also one of the most awesome reader-slash-reviewer out there) __**moonfaerie326**__._

* * *

_**Tiptoeing around Drama and Conspiracies**_

His righteous self had been standing there, _waiting_; the hot weather and pollution assaulting and tormenting his senses, for nearly forty-five minutes. Not that he would ever complain; this was summer and summer only and he _was_ a hundred percent demon. He was a demon to the core. Strong. Pure. Impatient. Wasn't there a law against physical and mental abuse? To have him waiting, of all people, should be forbidden. Punished. Seen as a crime against Demon Rights.

What was Jaken thinking when he set the private meeting on the roof? This was a skyscraper, tall and as close to the sun as Mexico was to the United States—not that the heat was intolerable, but close to.

Something whooshed past him, wind raising dust and tangling feathers in his long, straight silver hair. Disgusting. Nothing could have annoyed him more. What a wonderful day.

A tall, dark-haired demoness stood right in front of him, smelling of demon mixture and looking confident. Her ruby eyes scrutinized him and she was covering the rest of her face with a traditional Japanese fan that she immediately threw over the huge building. That was when he noticed her full, red lips.

"Oops, sorry about the feathers," she said with mock embarrassment. "You are Sesshomaru Takahashi, I presume—if you are a lookalike and patrolling, I came alone, as requested, and wow—you totally look real, they applied the makeup really carefully," the wind demoness commented, raising her eyebrows.

A wonderful day indeed.

"You need to stop talking," Sesshomaru pointed out, his clawed fingers cracking and emanating poison.

The female demon scoffed. "In a bad mood, are we…"

"Instead, why don't you tell me about how your…name switched from The Lady of the Wind to Kagura Kaze in a matter of a few newspaper articles?" the dog demon offered her.

"I thought I needed to shut up?" the ruby-eyed witch countered and coming to the conclusion that she was really wasting some precious— "What do you mean my name switched? _When_?" she stressed, her eyes flashing.

That day was going to be longer than expected.

* * *

"This is paradise," Kagome sighed happily as she slumped down into the single bed.

Her bedroom window was open and the cool air soothed her heated skin. Her hair was still damp from the cold shower she had taken but she knew it would be dry in a matter of a few minutes. The weather was so hot that all thoughts regarding a possible vacation in some exotic place flew out of her mind. And to think that not even two days ago she had come home with sticky goo all over herself, the ice-cream that helped her escape Inuyasha having dried on her hair and skin at some point between the moment when she left the _ramen_ shop and the one when she finally reached the Higurashi Shrine.

"I can't believe that first-class asshole, though," the raven-haired mumbled. "Showing up like that when I'm having lunch with my friends."

"You were avoiding me," the half-demon's voice reached her ears, startling her and sending her face-first to the floor. It also wasn't helping that all she was wearing at the moment were panties and a tank top. "Hey, those magazines were wrong about you—your sense of fashion actually improved," the silver-haired CEO who was there for _real_ observed.

Crouched down behind her bed in an attempt to hide from his stare, Kagome replied, "I'm not wearing anything."

"Oh. This explains that." Inuyasha sat cross-legged on the windowsill, his amber eyes never looking away.

Blushing, the delivery girl grabbed the nearest pillow and covered her bare thighs as she sat down on her bed, all the while glaring at him. "You could have used the front door," she commented dryly.

"You would have avoided me _again_," he stressed and for a brief moment she actually wondered whether he was the type to hold a grudge against people or not. "Why did you that anyway?" Inuyasha questioned, clawed fingers drumming on his bicep as he sat there with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I was…" _Considering the possibility that I might have feelings for _someone_ who has brought too much unnecessary drama into my life?_ "…having a sugar rush." Kagome faked a giggle. "A very sticky, incredibly unstoppable sugar rush…so I went for a jog," she nodded enthusiastically. Inuyasha's frown turned into a wince and before he could say anything, the twenty year old girl added, "Besides, I have a life. When did you turn into glue? You send me text messages every single day. People like you should have events to attend and clients to woo so why are you stalking me?"

"Miroku and Sango are still in Atlantic City—" Inuyasha tried to argue.

The young human snorted. "So you also hired them as your friends, not only as your employees!"

"I thought we _agreed_ on being friends!"

"We don't have a contract, so _out_!"

Neither of them dared to utter another word and for a second, Kagome swore the much older half-demon looked hurt. That was until he cursed at her and turned to leave.

Rushing by his side, Kagome pulled at his hair and yelled, "Wait!"

"Fucking wench—_What_?" he all but growled at her, rubbing the spot where it still hurt.

"Did you actually jump up here wearing slacks?"

"…Does that make me cool?"

Rolling her eyes, Kagome whispered shamefully, "Sorry. It's just that I don't how to react to this not-so-scandalous scandal." She sat back down on the bed that bounced a little, this time not bothering to cover her bare skin. "I'm really confused, too. I mean, all I did this past couple of years is create gorgeous bunches of flowers for _your_ ex-girlfriend-slash-fiancée, write the notes _you_ should have thought of and deliver the whole package to have you _both_ happy, which obviously didn't happen since you guys aren't together anymore. You ordered those flowers like Chinese take-away…"

"You've said that before," Inuyasha reminded her in a hushed tone. "I already know you disliked me and my ability to make you feel like your work is worth nothing."

"…and now it feels like we're epic best friends, which we're not." Chocolate brown eyes glanced at him and she added with a much softer tone, "So where do we stand between Kikyo, the freaking tabloids and this awkward situation where you are staring at my bra-less self?"

Inuyasha desperately wanted to laugh at that but refrained himself to do so. Instead, he shrugged and scratched his left dog-like ear. "Look, I don't have any…_weird_ feelings for you."

"…Oh."

"But I really enjoy your company. You're like…a breath of fresh air, if that means anything at all." The half-demon hopped down the windowsill and sat next to Kagome, careful not to come too close and creep her out. "While you were busy at the flower shop, all I had on the other hand was Kikyo," he explained. "My half-brother doesn't count and Miroku—he's glue himself. Now, Kikyo's gone, Sesshomaru is still wearing makeup and Miroku pretends he has found the love of his life."

_Oh…!_ Kagome smiled at that.

"This is why I'm here, playing Tarzan just to come in and talk to you."

"And stare at my bra-less form," she joked.

"And stare at your bra-less form," he went along. Silence settled in between them for a few minutes before Inuyasha nudged her with his shoulder. "I'm going to hire you as my friend, then. Though you're the one who really should be paying me for being your friend; I'm cool, you're not."

"First-class asshole," she muttered under her breath, fully knowing those fuzzy ears of his could actually hear her.

Surprisingly enough, he ignored the insult.

"Want to catch a movie?" he offered with an unusual, genuine smile. "There's still time if we hurry up. What about a midnight showing?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Kagome all but ran to the door. "We're watching a horror movie!"

"Kagome," Inuyasha suddenly cleared his throat.

"Or we could watch a romantic comedy! I'm sure you hate that."

"Kagome."

"What?" she groaned, turning around and sending daggers his way.

"You…might want to wear something else than just a shirt and panties."

…_Right._

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**Word counts:** 355; 1,071

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_**Acknowledgments**_

**Riya:** Thanks. I hope this chapter had the same effect as the previous one.

_(no name):_ Thank you for the compliment! Obviously, it is impossible for anyone to eat as much as Kagome without throwing up later. This is why she's throwing up whenever she eats like a pig. You are completely right about the anorexia/bulimia thing. Although I knew the difference, it was my mistake to repeat the words that were used in the comment I received. Hope this update didn't come out too late!

(I have another reviewer with 'no name.' Same person or…? This is getting creepy. :D)

**Ruthe-La:** Shame on you for not logging in! Now, I mentioned you twice. Don't you feel special? I'm glad to hear there was nothing terrible in the previous unedited chapter, haha.

**Ren:** The fur-stroking mystery will be resolved soon, worry not ;). Thanks for the lovely comment!

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**A/N:** I noticed there aren't many of you sticking to the end. I'm not surprised…but I can't say I'm happy neither. It's a shame, people! I wrote half of this for myself but the other half is for the readers. Boo. Hoo. Hoo. :)


	26. No Such Thing as Money And Romance

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter.

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_

_**No Such Thing as Money And Romance **_

"There is no way you could be doing this!" the rather short young demon shouted as two of the tallest policemen he had ever seen slowly dragged him out of his small office. "I can't believe it!" he shrieked, his purple eyes flashing with rage.

The powerful silver-haired demon who was the reason why he was being nicely escorted out humph'ed and the annoying little toad standing next to him took it as his cue. "Well, watch us as we buy everything you once possessed," he taunted with a naturally muffled voice.

"This has to be illegal!" the young demon insisted. "I am going to sue you, both of you!"

The toad actually laughed. "What the hell, this is Japan! We can buy everything we want. It's a free, corrupted country and you, Hakudoshi Kobayashi, are going to jail!"

"Jaken."

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama?" The midget batted his nonexistent eyelashes at his lord.

"Silence. Or I will cut off your paws."

There was more struggling on the news editor's part but he obviously was no match for the two thug guys the powerful dog demon had brought along. The establishment was old, dirty and needed to be completely demolished and rebuilt. There were only a few employees working for the Kobayashi brat and they had no qualifications, too. If it hadn't been for Hakudoshi's father, this business would have never seen the light. It was time for some cleaning, Sesshomaru thought to himself as he turned to leave.

"This has to remain secret," he said to the female he knew had been hiding in the shadowed corner ever since the young scum was arrested.

"That sounded like a bad action movie line." The wind demoness he had met earlier that day marched towards him, a smirk adorning her full, ruby lips. "If keeping it a secret means no telling your little brother, then no problem. I don't know him anyway. Not personally, that is."

The dog demon snorted. "I was talking about the press—the real press, not some other lame excuse of a newspaper, like the one you worked for. By the way, Inuyasha is my _half_-brother," he corrected, his tiny toad still standing silent next to him.

"What a huge difference. Let me tell you still that you are a very protective _half-brother_," Kagura threw back at him, her sarcastic tone irking him all the more.

"Ungrateful female," Sesshomaru commented dryly before he walked past her and towards the stairs that would lead him out of that dusty, smelly place. How dared she make fun of him when he had helped her realize that she was nowhere near working as a professional photographer? Hakudoshi had no intention of assigning her to any other task—it would have always been a cheap salary for cheap photos. Not that his righteous self had wanted to help her in the first place but by offering her a real job, she told him everything he needed to know about the guy who planned on taking his half-brother down and by sending this guy to jail, he also saved himself, not only Inuyasha.

Inuyasha could choke on his silicone nipple for all he cared.

"Let's have coffee someday, Sesshomaru-_sama_!" Kagura mocked as she flew past him on an enormous feather once he was outside.

Dust and street dirt found a home in his long, straight hair _again_. "This is…"

"Disgusting!" the toad demon croaked out, coughing his lungs out. "Forgive me if I actually talk but that lady—that wind witch has no manners! Sir, you have city pigeon feathers tangled in your magnificent tail!"

Well, _hell's bells_. So much for helping people.

* * *

Laughter erupted after the movie.

There weren't many spectators coming out from the exit corridor, just the two them and a small group of teenagers. The movie hadn't been all that great, yet Kagome was nearly busting a gut. Fuzzy ears twitched as he caught a few disrespectful comments on her current behavior and Inuyasha lead her away from the theater, all the while glaring at the punks.

"Damn, did you see that part when he drops the bomb and it doesn't explode?" Kagome marveled. "I was actually scared. He is too beautiful to die," she nodded to herself.

"What?" Inuyasha scoffed. "That movie was blunt bullshit. I just wasted ninety precious minutes of my wonderful life," he countered with a smirk.

The half-demon spotted a ice-cream truck on the opposite side of the road and promptly lead her there, completely ignoring traffic signals and honking cars. Sweetness first and caution then. This was definitely one of the hottest summers ever and he usually wasn't that affected by weather changes. That alone said a lot.

A loud cry suddenly caused his ears to flatten on his head and his musing to come to an end.

"Inuyasha! Are you trying to kill me?" the raven-haired human scolded and he caught the sound of her heart beating like a jackhammer.

"Gah, damn you for getting frightened about everything and anything!" Inuyasha groaned. "First the actor, now crossing the road—I am just trying to buy you some ice-cream!" He tapped his foot on the floor childishly, never noticing Kagome's sudden—and silent—embarrass.

_This is so awkward,_ Kagome panicked inwardly. _A few months ago he wouldn't even pay for a fast-food order and now he is paying for the movies _and_ for the ice-cream?_ Inuyasha had either something up his sleeve or a crush on her. She was seriously praying for the former. She could never deal with a lovesick puppy when she wasn't even remotely sure why she had disturbing wet dreams about him.

Inuyasha swallowed, amber eyes desperately searching for Kagome's. Her silence was worrying him. Did he sound…aggressive? Mean? Was he obnoxious? Was she regretting going with him at all? _Why isn't she saying anything?_ Aggravated with the pathetic situation, Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak only to shut it, making a strangled noise, when the delivery girl smiled uneasily at him. There was definitely something wrong, something terribly wrong.

The ice-cream man was watching in boredom them as they stood in front of his truck without even speaking. After three good minutes of _nothing_, he cleared his throat, getting their attention.

"Are you guys planning on buying anything?"

"Yes—"

"—of course," they both said in unison.

Five minutes later, they were walking back to the Higurashi Shrine, Kagome with a tiny cup of black cherry flavored ice-cream in her hand and Inuyasha with a huge, brownie flavored cornet. When they had originally left Kagome's house, he had carried the young woman on his back, as he pretended not to have taken his car to come and see her, and she was simply happy to be given a piggy-back ride, until he started running and using the many roofs in the area as trampolines. Then she was elated and hurting his sensitive ears yet again.

Inuyasha was most definitely uncomfortable with the entire walk-the-girl-home process. It had always been easier with Kikyo—he took things as they came and her for granted. Kikyo came from a wealthy family herself and so even when they were still dating, which really happened _ages_ ago, the limousine would solve every problem. Now, he was stuck with Kagome until she got home and politely shut the front door. Worst-case scenario, she would invite him inside.

He needed to borrow a book about dating. Some guide. Something. He needed something to deal with all the crap he was in.

"Inuyasha," Kagome spoke as they neared the Higurashi Shrine, the endless stairs already in sight. "I had a good time. We had fun and I am sorry for my previous behavior—I know I've already apologized and I don't like to do that at all but you deserve it." She smiled one of those sickeningly sweet, heart-stopping smiles and he couldn't find his voice. "I'm so happy right now I think I won't be calling you a first-class asshole anytime soon," she announced with glee.

Kagome flashed him another smile before she went back to eating her ice-cream and as soon as she was finished, she dropped the empty cup and the plastic spoon in the nearest trashcan. His cornet was practically untouched but he didn't crave the sweetness anymore. He felt beyond confused and almost as young as she was when he really wasn't. He wanted to do all the things he hadn't been able to when he was busy studying, leveling up with his brother, pleasing his father, seeing Kikyo…and slacking from time to time.

Kagome… She was his breath of fresh air. She had only brought positive changes in his life.

"Well, here we are," the raven-haired twenty year old stated as they reached the shrine steps. "Thanks again."

He gave her no response.

"Um, hello…?" Kagome tilted her head, big mocha eyes staring curiously at the half-demon who had obviously spaced out.

…Or maybe he hadn't.

Inuyasha's grasped the back of her head and his cornet fell to the ground almost simultaneously. His rough, yet gentle lips moved against hers and she blinked, her body completely still as her brain stopped working. Her head was now tilted back as he was taller than her and she felt him sigh against her mouth. His other hand traveled up to her left cheek, cupped it, his thumb caressing her skin. Kagome's eyelids suddenly felt a lot heavy and she began kissing him back. Somehow, she was glad this wasn't her first real kiss or else she would have freaked out and backed away as she actually did five years ago. Backing away from Inuyasha sounded like a bad idea. He was skilled. She liked him.

_I like him._ Kagome gulped at the thought. She had clearly avoided admitting that much to any costs. _You can't like your friends in that way._ She groaned and of course, Inuyasha had to take that as a _go on_. He caught her bottom lip between his, as old-fashioned as it was, and sucked. She was going to have a heart-attack. All previous kisses never lasted this long and generally, the boy would try his hardest to shove his tongue down her throat! _Okay, Kagome, this is your brain going mayday. You must choose now—befriend him or like him._ Inuyasha's hand that was currently cupping her cheek slowly slid down to the curve of her hip.

_Befriend._

He squeezed the flesh there, pulling her a tad closer.

_No, no, no. Like._

His other hand gently pulled at her hair, tilting her head back even more.

_Not good. Befriend._

She half-opened her eyes only to see him doing the same. _Like. Blame it on the gorgeous golden eyes._

Something wet teased her upper lip and she gasped. He needed access. He wanted access.

"Well, _access denied_, you first-class asshole!" Kagome shouted in his face before she ran up the shrine stairs, leaving a stunned half-demon all high and dry.

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**Word counts:** 624; 1,233

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_**Acknowledgments**_

**Name:** Thank you a lot for your comment! Here is more. I hope you enjoyed.

**Mika:** I am not sure childishness is a word but my spell-checker recognizes it as one. Anyway, I guess you could say Kagome is a child even though she is twenty and should behave as the young adult that she is. She still lives with her mother and has no real life experience…but at least she is somewhat fitting for our clueless half-demon. About Inuyasha's weird feelings… This chapter says it all!

_(no name):_ Thinking? You shouldn't be thinking! You should write it already. We need more Inuyasha and Kagome stories. :) Thank you for sticking around.

**celastrina ladon:** I love your pen name. It reminds of a story I am currently reading. Anyway, it is good to know that you are enjoying the humor so far! And I am sure Sesshomaru would never bite, haha. He is so cold and stuff but I am sure he would purr if you try and pet him, just like those big, intimidating men who really are babies looking for attention. I am fantasizing. (sighs)

**the-real-Inu-Girl:** Hey, someone actually got the Tarzan line! (toothy smile)

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**A/N:** I am afraid I won't be able to update as much as I did this past month since I have to go back to school. Anyway, I promise I will try to update at least once a week. That doesn't sound so impossible to me. Thank you all for reading. Feedback is, as always, very much appreciated.


	27. The Not so Lovestruck and Cornered Mouse

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter._

_

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_

_**The Not-so-Lovestruck and Cornered Mouse**_

All the knocking on her bedroom door was giving her a headache.

"Kagome," she heard her mother call, her voice sounding slightly worried. "Kagome, your friends are here. Should I let them come in?"

"I have no friends!" the raven-haired woman shouted back as she still hid under her puffy white comforter. "Go 'way!"

"Don't be so difficult," another voice chimed in, one she recognized as Sango's. "Open the door already."

Kagome could have scoffed.

Ever since she came back from her romantic trip, Sango had put on her best annoying act. Eventually, she discovered that her lame-to-lame boss, Inuyasha, had kissed her, the delivery girl, which was the very reason why she was now hiding from the world. It obviously came out from Inuyasha's mouth who had to be ranting on his poor and miserably rich man's life in Miroku's presence and of course, the nosy employee reported the facts to his new girlfriend—Sango. Why she was even friends with this girl was beyond her, Kagome realized. How these two even turned out to be a lovey-dovey couple was even more beyond her; it was actually miles and miles away from whatever she could have imagined about them. Sango had balls. Miroku had no friends, except from his right hand.

Kagome groaned. Her dark thoughts would send her burning to Hell someday. But really, did they have to come over? And Sango she could understand; they started hanging out a while ago, since she became Inuyasha The Slave Driver and Kikyo The Mascara Princess' personal messenger and _the_ flower delivery girl…but Miroku? No, they weren't friends at all. _I guess this is all part of being a couple. Darn it. _Kagome punched her pillow. _First Ayame and now Sango._ The next thing she knew, she would be getting married too.

The twenty-year-old woman fervently shook her head. "Not happening!" she yelled.

"Is it really that bad?" Sango asked from the other side of the wall.

"Ah!" Kagome tossed in her bed. "I wasn't talking to you," she mumbled.

"Look," her brunette friend tried to reason with her, "We…know. Let us in; we're your friends and you can't stay in there forever. Kaede told us you didn't even go to work these past three days."

The chocolate-eyed girl remained silent. Talking wasn't what she had in mind at all. They were all happy with themselves, wearing shit-eating grins on their stupid faces and she just wanted to die. Kagome knew she was being irrational and overly dramatic and she also wasn't that much of a hypocrite. As much as she considered Inuyasha as a creepy businessman who went around kissing young and innocent delivery girls, she was very aware of the fact that deep down, she hadn't minded that unexpected kiss.

Feeling the heat rushing to her cheeks, Kagome gulped. Oh, no, she hadn't minded at all….

Her cell phone vibrated and she bolted up in her bed. Okay, so maybe _this _she minded. Inuyasha hadn't stop calling ever since she left him wondering what was wrong with his kissing skills and disappeared.

"I'm telling you, let's just—"

"Miroku, that's rude!"

"Oh, I am sure my daughter wouldn't mind; she's just trying to get some attention, I am sure," Mrs. Higurashi chuckled.

Upon seeing her supposed friends come in, Kagome pouted. _Don't let them know you are actually glad to see them._

"It wasn't even locked!" Miroku pointed out, looking baffled.

Kagome watched with wary eyes as Sango shrugged at him and her shoulders relaxed when she heard her mother go downstairs, humming mysteriously. She was sitting on her bed, her legs still covered by the warm comforter, her hair mussed. She certainly could have done without Miroku's disturbing presence but she was too busy thinking about something stupid she could say to them to actually care. Kagome knew they had come to friendly flaunt their blossoming relationship…and to know more about the infamous kiss.

Or maybe she was the one who really wanted to talk about that.

"Why have you been skipping work?" the doe-eyed brunette asked, coming to sit down on the bed. "Kaede told Inuyasha you weren't even answering your phone," Sango added, covering her mouth as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Apparently," Miroku corrected.

"_Apparently_," Kagome repeated with an evil smile. "What are you guys doing—stalking me?" When her _friends_ were about to answer that, she immediately threw in another question. "Did you come here to talk about your boss?"

"Do _you_ want to talk about _Inuyasha_?" Sango retorted, a frown now marking her quite beautiful features.

"What makes you think I do?" the delivery girl defended, causing Miroku to hold his hands up.

"Just making sure," he tried to reassure her with a nervous smile.

Kagome rolled their eyes at them, a smile growing on her lips. "You guys are even more annoying now that you are officially together. At least, your chasing each other didn't involve my love life," she stated matter-of-factly, their reaction startling her.

Sango and Miroku were suddenly crawling towards her on all fours like starving animals. Their eyes were narrowed and scrutinizing her as if she suddenly looked ill. All that was missing was the demonic panting… To put it bluntly, they were as scary as a superstar wearing no makeup and who just woke up next to you.

"Wha—What's wrong with you?" Kagome whispered backing away from them until she hit the headboard.

"So you _do_ have a love life," Sango concluded with a secret smile that was way too Miroku-ish to be innocent.

"I—What—No—!"

"Sango, my blueberry cake, she's actually stuttering!" Miroku promptly pointed, his eyebrows waggling. Had he been licking his lips, he would have been no better than a dirty old pervert in the subway.

Kagome grimaced. _My blueberry cake?_ "I do hope you're not metaphorically describing her _thing_." Her eyes instantly widened. _I did not just say that. Out loud._ Seeing how both Sango and Miroku were staring at her like she had just confessed being a lesbian…she probably did. "That shut you up," she complimented herself, pushing them aside when they began stealing the air by breathing in her face.

Since Sango was still gasping and gaping at her, Miroku was the one to react first. "Well, you are very good at changing the subject."

"Hey," Kagome mumbled, "I just don't want to talk about it." When Miroku half-shrugged but still smiled at her, tilting his head, she added sheepishly, "It's good to see you guys anyway. I was really starting to feel lonely."

"You are cute," the indigo-eyed employee said with a smirk. "That must be the reason why people kiss you out of the blue."

Kagome's jaw twitched. "_So_, how was Atlantic City?"

As they spent the entire afternoon joking and sharing experiences, as well as feelings, Kagome's enthusiasm slowly turned into a bitter realization. Sango and Miroku were finally together and they were extremely happy about it—it was written all over their faces. Her friend would say something silly, sometimes, and she would laugh then notice the longing in Miroku's eyes. The loner that he was probably couldn't help it anyway; he was in love, Kagome was certain. _And then there's Ayame, who is a bride-to-be._ The more she thought about it, the more their casual talking turned into a lame conversation between two people—between lovebirds.

Kagome had zoned out. Completely.

The raven-haired woman forced herself to smile; she did so once or twice, then gave up. It was useless. She probably should have told them to go away _for real_ in the first place. It was a bother to have them giggling and flirting, all the while staring at each other with goggly eyes. Kagome knew it wasn't made in purpose but still—it was annoying, especially when she didn't know how to be so genuine.

_If I had let Inuyasha kiss me, maybe we would be goggly-eyed, too._ A part of her wanted to gag. Being in love had to be great but becoming stupid because of it? _Pathetic._

Before she knew it, Sango and Miroku were both standing up, telling her to get up and have a good evening and mentioning something about thanking her mother for her hospitality. As Miroku waved his goodbye, Sango whispered to her, "You should call our favorite half-demon, though, or else he is going to regret his actions."

It sounded cornier than anything she had heard all day. Getting out of bed as soon as she heard her friends leave the house, Kagome rolled her eyes at her dark and moody thoughts. "I am not a middle-aged woman who's been deceived by her ex-husband," she reminded herself, finger-brushing her wavy—and tangled—hair. "I should enjoy this. I should enjoy having a guy who's interested in me."

She was about to go downstairs and grab a potato chip bag in the upper cabinet to the right of the stove when her outdated cell phone vibrated loudly for what had to be the fiftieth time that day. Chewing on her lower lip, she slumped down on her bed and lazily checked her text messages. Apparently, this time she had a new voicemail message. Kagome really hoped it was a little more creative than Inuyasha's usual, _'Pick up, for fuck's sake.'_

Letting out a tongue-curling yawn, the young woman speed-dialed her voicemail, then activated the hands-free function.

_Beep._ _**"When are you going to pick up, woman?"**_ _Sigh._ _**"If you keep it up, I will send you a lot of red roses with a very impersonal note and you will hate it. I mean it,"**_ he threatened, sounding like a pouting child. _**"Did I offend you? You're stupid—you really are."**_ He huffed, then went on, _**"I'd make it up to you if you would just **_**pick up**_**,"**_ he emphasized. _**"And since you won't let me surprise you with a short phone call, I guess I should take you out for an improvised dinner and organize a ridiculous unexpected vacation but I can't do that alone."**_ There was a pause, then he ranted on, _**"The list is over, right? These are the things that a great boyfriend would do to make it up, huh? That's what you said the first time I actually got to see your ugly face—you know, the night you first met me as the random employee and I gave you a ride home? Yeah, I know. I am just **_**so**_** nice."**_

Kagome glared furiously at the small device. "Asshole."

**_"_**_****__O_kay, I am hanging up. I sound pussy-whipped—and I am not. Shut up."_ Beep._

The room became silent again and a soft smile settled on her lips. _He actually remembers what I said _months_ ago? It was a random thought, nothing more._ Kagome wasn't expecting that at all—the useless comments she did but everything else was just…corny._ He must be the kind of guy who would memorize your tax code but not your birthday,_ she concluded.

When she finally decided to call him, she shrugged off all previous thoughts about sickeningly sweet couples and friendship.

Her friends were teenagers at heart and even though she previously wanted to become Inuyasha's friend, it just wasn't an option anymore. She had come to like him a little too much.

**_"_**_****__H_ello?" he answered the call almost immediately and she could already imagine his dog-like ears as they perked up. _**"Kagome? Was about time,"**_ he grunted.

"Hi. I heard your message."

The half-demon CEO didn't answer.

"It was sappy," she told him flatly.

**_"_**_****__Y_ou—"

"Are you taking me out for dinner tonight? I could always pretend I wasn't expecting it at all."

_If he were born with a tail, would it be waggling now?_ She hoped so.

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**Word count:** 2,005

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_**Acknowledgments**_

**Riya:** Well, acting weird is exactly the point. I am sorry if I had you waiting!

**PrincessNevermore:** Here is. There was a cliffhanger because I'm evil. That's as simple as that. ;)

_**(no name):**_ It's alright. Now I know who you are. It's great to see you'll keep reading and reviewing till the end. Unlike some other people. Thanks, really.

**Tohru123:** Of course she likes him! She's just acting stupid, don't worry, heh.

**Inuyashite-das-right:** Because people are stupid, haha? I don't know. Anyway, I am not sure we could say Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship is a 'building' friendship now.

**AnineFreak:** New reader? Thank you for your comment (and for the compliment, too) anyway. :)

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**A/N:** This was – a bit – delayed _(coughs)_. I think I will update this again as soon as possible. There are three chapters left so let's get to it already, don't you agree? I think you do.


	28. Usual Eavesdropping

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter._

* * *

_**Usual Eavesdropping**_

She never liked Indian food. It was too spicy, too disgusting and so very…well, Indian, for her taste. She really had no idea why she had actually accepted going out for dinner when it meant eating Indian food. The worst of it all was probably the fact that neither the waiters nor the chef were actually Indian people. What a poor joke.

As they sat there, however, she couldn't help but stare at him. He was having chicken and she was sorting the many vegetables in her plate. He was silent but she figured it was okay; she noticed he was watching the people around them from the corner of his eye. Was he nervous? She swore he was never.

"I hope you are both enjoying the dinner," their waiter's voice startled her from her thoughts. The young demon was grinning at her, casually glancing at her food, his furry tail waggling slightly.

_It was perfect until you showed up,_ she wanted to spit.

"Would you like some wine? French, maybe?"

"I thought this was an Indian restaurant?" she finally snapped, her ruby eyes fixed on his nameplate, which read, _'Shippo.'_

The much older demon sitting across from her promptly cleared his throat. "We will have your best wine, thank you." As soon as the red-head disappeared, he added, "Do you have to be such a witch?"

"Very funny, Sesshomaru," she deadpanned.

"You did not just call me by my first name."

The wind demoness smirked at him but as soon as a pleasant silence settled between them, chaos erupted.

"Hey, are you done staring at my feet?" an infuriated female patron suddenly yelled. "Why is he staring?" she added in a hushed voice, asking the male who accompanied her. "You said classy, not _fancy_!" she bellowed.

"Yeah, well—it's not my fault you'd still wear snickers in restaurant that obviously doesn't sell hamburgers and fries!"

"You jackass—I am wearing a dress, dammit! I simply didn't have shoes that matched so I settled for the most comfortable pair!"

"It's your fault he's staring then!"

Sesshomaru's noise twitched and he furrowed his brow. As if on cue, Kagura raised an eyebrow and they both turned in perfect sync, the other thirty tables mimicking their movements.

There was a short, raven-haired girl pointing at the fox demon waiter, who looked like he was about to have a panic attack. She was wearing a loose black dress that complimented her enough and that reached her calves; she almost looked pretty in it, if it weren't for her footwear. The bright yellow sport pumps didn't even help her temper. The young human was glaring at the demon standing next to her, his fuzzy white canine ears perked up and—

"Wait, isn't that your brother?"

"I don't have any brother." Where was he? Oh, right. The chicken.

"Whoa, whoa. Don't tell me _she _is the poor sap he's been two-timing his supermodel with?" Kagura chortled. "I can't believe it."

"Two-timing is when you act as the companion of both females," Sesshomaru stated. "Inuyasha hardly acted like one with the first wench."

"I thought you had no brother?" Kagura threw back at him. "You stood up for him twice this week. That's just incredible," the ruby-eyed demoness pointed out sarcastically as she kept staring at the bickering pair.

"This is the first and last time you take me out for dinner!"

"Ha! Don't worry, I am not some masochist. I'd rather die than let you humiliate me again."

The raven-haired girl turned heels, huffing and swaying like a mighty upset cat. Much to everyone's—except for Sesshomaru's—surprise, the half-demon quickly went after her and they both disappeared outside, Inuyasha's hand comfortably pressed against the small of her back.

With a content sigh, Kagura turned to face him again. "So, wine?" she asked, grinning, then noticed her date looked like the not-so-Indian chicken went down the wrong way.

Oops.

* * *

**Word count:** 674

* * *

_**Acknowledgments**_

**Mika:** You just made me realize how much nonsense I've put in this story so far – the blueberry cake, WacFlurry, Big Wac and so on. Damn. And you love it all? Haha. You know how to make my day. :)

**TaintedMiko:** Time passes by very quick? I actually had a reviewer tell me about the three excruciating years I've been taking to complete this story, haha. Good luck with your studies!

**3lue3utterfly:** I know how goofy Kagome is. I like her being stupid in this, can't explain why.

**Inuyashite-das-right:** Thank you. There were so many of you who liked Inuyasha's message – I feel like God, haha.

**unknown:** Oh, new reader? Thank you for the compliment!

**PrincessNevermore:** Here's more. Well, do I actually leave on a good note or is it just wishful thinking?

* * *

**A/N:** Life is getting hectic but this was supposed to be short _and_ a teaser anyway. Make sure you leave a comment!


	29. Traumatically in Love

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter._

* * *

_**Traumatically in Love **_

Inuyasha was under the impression that the young human woman walking next to him wasn't having fun. At all.

He was at a loss.

"You know, there something about you I really don't get," he confessed, frowning until he looked like Grumpy from Snow White.

"What?" Kagome asked, drinking her soda from a bright green straw.

"I take you out for dinner and you make a scene; I take you to the mall and you buy food instead of clothes; I take you to the park and you fall asleep—seriously, any other girl would have found that terribly exciting and _romantic_," the half-demon emphasized before he looked away, huffing.

"Well, I am surprised, you have been hanging out with me this past week instead of working."

"That's not an answer."

"When did you ask me anything?"

Inuyasha snapped. "You—!" Another huff. "I _am_ a great boyfriend. You can't say otherwise."

Kagome's eyebrows shot up. "We are boyfriend and girlfriend? Thanks for letting me know; I hope I'll take part in the next decision," the delivery girl said in a sarcastic tone, skillfully hiding a very satisfied smile.

The CEO remained silent and promptly ignored her statement. They were walking down the street that connected the Meiji Jingū Shrine to the Sunset Shrine; the place was crowded with tourists but it still wasn't as noisy as most places in Tokyo were. Kagome rarely went for a walk when she didn't have to work and usually liked to spend the day at home but she actually thought that Inuyasha fit the décor quite nicely. He was casually dressed and had his arms crossed over his chest; all in all, he looked as if he was lost in his thoughts when he was merely pissed at her.

Grinning, the raven-haired woman nudged him. "Come on, let's take the subway; I know exactly the perfect place where you can be the perfect boyfriend."

* * *

Inuyasha was about to shit his pants.

"FUCKING CHRIST, KAGOME! MAKE IT STOP!" he yelled, his hands covering his sensitive ears as the wind threatened to blew out his eardrums.

"WHY SHOULD I, THIS IS AMAZING! AND HOW COULD I, BY THE WAY?" his not-so-favorite delivery girl shouted back, all the while laughing and reveling in the great sensations the roller coaster caused. "MOMMY!" she added with a throaty laugh as they rolled down.

"I HATE YOU, KAGOME; I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE—" The half-demon's tantrum immediately stopped as he found himself riding the roller coaster with his head upside-down. "Damn." Inuyasha screwed his eyes shut. _I'm going to throw up._

"Come on, open your eyes, you're missing something crazy!" Kagome pressed as they slowed down.

"_You_ are crazy," he spat. "You are—"

"Your hair is hanging like air drying clothes!" she exclaimed, pointing at his head and laughing childishly. Elatedly.

"Stupid," Inuyasha whispered, his golden eyes glued to her bubbly face. "Stupid girl," he muttered again, paying no attention to the fact that the excessive amount of blood was leaving his brain and that they were coming to a stop. Kagome looked far too happy and it triggered something inside of him. It was there, deep inside, and threatening to come out. He instantly forgot about this ridiculous idea of hers, about the carnival and everything that ensued. He wanted to reach out, grab her face and wipe that goofy smile from her lips with a smoldering—

"Sir, you need to get off," one of the funfair guys reminded him in a gruff tone.

_No shit. Wait—_ "Wha—?"

Inuyasha blinked, then noticed that everyone around him was giving him a pointed look, including Kagome.

_Hmm._

The ride was over.

"Aren't you supposed to be a half-demon?" the raven-haired human asked with a huff as she helped him walk straight.

"Shut up—I'm a businessman, not a stuntman!" he defended hotly, even though he felt as if his brain had been mashed and his jello legs were shaky.

Kagome smiled but still shook her head at him. "Okay, Mr. Intellectual. Let's go for something less extreme then."

"You're not done yet?"

"If it were up to me I'd buy a burger but I know you don't feel like eating any."

Inuyasha blanched.

In a matter of five minutes, Kagome, who seemed to be friends with every cunning ticket seller in the amusement park, got them a free ride in the _Love Tunnel_. Inuyasha didn't think she would be the kind of girl to really think that such things could be romantic in any way. He was proved right as soon as she mentioned something about making fun of silly people.

Still, there was something in these chocolate orbs that made him think otherwise.

_My brain must still be upside-down,_ he concluded when she pointed at the reams of their boat. He wasn't feeling well, goddammit. _I'd better get something out of this…_

As soon as he started to row, Kagome grabbed his wrists. "Slower!"

"Why?"

"This is already boring, you can't have it end this quickly!"

Inuyasha furrowed his brow. "You're not making any sense today."

"Just—slow, okay?"

He nodded.

She leaned back, looking away as if she weren't feeling at ease at all. He kept his movements steady, half wondering what was up with her. First he kissed her, then she disappeared; he almost stalked her and when she finally accepted to go out with him, she was never satisfied. Until the amusement park, that is, but it had been her idea so it didn't count.

_So… We entered the tunnel, I row and keep rowing…until we get out of here? How stupid is that?_ Inuyasha growled, drawing Kagome's attention back to him.

She giggled. "Your hair is in a mess, you know? And all this humidity isn't helping."

"Yeah? Well, you don't look this cute neither."

Kagome's eyes narrowed.

Another boat overtook theirs, then she spoke again.

"You said we were boyfriend and girlfriend," she stated calmly.

"I didn't put it that way."

"It was implied."

Another growl. "Fine. I said it. So what?"

She shrugged. "I've been thinking a lot. I don't see why you'd want me—you were about to get married with your long-time girlfriend and it all turned out to be a fiasco. You are a business tycoon and I am a poor, not really bright delivery girl. Even sociology is against us," Kagome tried to reason, her chin resting in her hands.

Inuyasha grimaced. "Fuck sociology then."

"Fuck _you_," the raven-haired young woman retorted, grinning when the half-demon gasped at her cussing. "You should be able to tell me how we ended up here."

"You're the one who was up for this carnival business—"

"Inuyasha!"

"I didn't break up with Kikyo because of you."

Kagome frowned. "Oh."

"I did it thanks to you," he corrected, looking exasperated. "We weren't happy, even you knew that. You can't be surprised still." Inuyasha went back to his rowing activity. Somehow, this wasn't what he'd had in mind at all. They were never supposed to be talking about Kikyo.

"I am happy to be here with you," Kagome replied, as if she were able to read his mind like an open book. "What I really wanted to ask you is whether you feel the same or not. I have never been in any kind of relationship before—and anyone is able to tell why—so I am just making sure I am not reading into things and living in my own world," she confessed, looking slightly ashamed and uncomfortable.

Golden eyes flickered and Inuyasha cursed out loud. He was blushing. "Kag—"

Their boat rocked violently; Kagome screamed—there was a loud _splash_ and an endless flow of very bad words leaving Inuyasha's mouth. There was another loud _splash_, a young couple of demon lovebirds appearing behind them and they kept their heads low. Inuyasha was already standing up, his eyes flashing as if we were about to slaughter a hundred sheep.

"Sorry, guys! But that would have never happened if you had kept rowing instead of stalling!" the redhead shouted at them as his ruby-eyed girlfriend maneuvered their boat.

"You!" Inuyasha pointed at the young demon. "You're the server from last night!"

The fox demon paled. "Soten," he whispered to the tomboy sitting across from him. "Faster," he pleaded in a worried tone.

Inuyasha was ready to swim after them but then he head a loud sniff. He slowly turned around, his expression softening almost immediately. Kagome was sitting there, in what had to be more than just dirty water, wiping tears of frustration. He crouched before her in a dog-like fashion, his fuzzy ears twitching every time she made a small noise.

"Kagome?"

"Darn it." She sniffed again. "To think this was nearly perfect."

Inuyasha scoffed at that. "Perfect, really?"

"Really," she assured. "I was about to tell you stuff—the kind of stuff romantic girls would blurt out easily, you know, when they're on a date and…well, here I am, sitting in dog pee!"

Kagome rubbed her eyes some more and his eyebrow twitched. "Are you trying to offend me?"

She didn't answer, too busy to smear her makeup.

He sighed. "I'll buy you an ice-cream if you stop crying."

"Buy me a burger instead," she said, looking up at him with a cheeky smile as she was done crying crocodile tears.

They stared at each other for a moment, wearing opposite expressions on their faces. Then he chuckled, shaking his head at her. Thinking about it, the day had been memorable so far; if she could only be a tad less weird… "Okay. Let's get out of here first." Inuyasha moved to stand when she grabbed his forelocks and pulled his face to hers.

Her wet, soft lips slid against his, returning the kiss she had denied him days ago. She seemed confident, sitting there with her eyes closed as she gnawed at his lips. He blinked a few times until he felt her hot muscle ask for entrance. He tangled his fingers in her hair, tilting her head when she greedily parted her lips. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his neck only to go slack when he gently sucked on her tongue. She squirmed.

They parted, gasping for air, then his arms encircled her waist. Kagome giggled, leaning in.

Inuyasha had yet to kiss his delivery girl again.

* * *

**Word counts:** 329; 1,461

* * *

_**Acknowledgements**_

**Mika:** And I can always count on you when it comes to wonderful reviews! Thank you, my dear. I hope you found something hilarious in this chapter as well.

* * *

**A/N:** I could be a mean author and choose not to post the very last chapter – but I'm not that mean. :) So, yes, next chapter _is_ the _last_ chapter. I'll have it done by the end of the week – I hope sooner, actually, but we'll see. Don't forget to vote for the next story you want posted once FD is done! Let's say you have three more weeks to choose. Most stories will be published, eventually, but I'd still like you to tell me which one you want up first.

If you have no idea what I am talking about (which would be very sad), check my profile. That's where the poll is, huh.


	30. The Delivery Bill

**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha is copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise and Viz. I make no profit from this story.

_No proof-reading for this chapter._

* * *

_**The Delivery Bill**_

"I now declare you to be husband and wife."

As the newlywed couple kissed, the guests applauded and the church organ played.

"This is _so_ romantic," the female hair demon sitting in the front row to the left said to herself, her eyes glued to the couple. "This is my dream," she said to old lady sitting next to her. "Getting married in a beautiful church with a handsome demon."

The greying lady's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Don't you demons have your own rituals?"

"Of course we do," the demoness scoffed, "but that doesn't mean we cannot add human rituals to our celebrating habits!"

The old human hummed.

"Oh, please forgive my rudeness. My name is Yura Yajima," the female hair demon introduced herself, her smile uneasy. "How did you meet the bride?"

"That's fine; I am Kaede Kyoda—the bride? Oh, she works for me."

Yura nodded slowly and the flower shop owner chuckled.

"Why are we standing here when we could have been sitting?" a tall, blue-eyed man asked, his long braid swaying slightly as he leaned towards his brother, who was actually wearing a knee-length summer skirt.

"'Cause we know both the groom and the bride?" the effeminate barman guessed.

"You hate women, Jakotsu; you could have sat to the right and I to the left!"

His brother sighed loudly. "I know," he whispered back, "but _you_ know I get emotional—I need you by my side." His voice trembled dramatically. "Got a tissue, Bankotsu?"

The blue-eyed man rolled his eyes. Of course he had one. "How could this not be predictable?" he asked no one in particular.

Someone to the left suddenly stood up in the middle row and clapped his hands loudly. "YEAH!" the indigo-eyed man cheered, the woman sitting next to him promptly grabbing his sleeve and pulling him down. "This is not a rock concert, you idiot!"

"Come on, Sango, don't be so old fashioned. They don't even believe in G—"

"Shut up, Miroku!" the brunette hushed him, nearly growling. "You—"

"Oh, shut up you _two_!" a third voice cut in.

Both Miroku and Sango looked down, gulping at their not-so-favorite toad demon's authority.

"Yes, Sir," the once cheerful employee nodded robotically. "I wouldn't dare to disobey the Master of all Amphibian Creatures."

His girlfriend made a strangled noise, trying not to laugh at the bad joke.

In the right corner of the chapel, an attractive wind demoness hid her teasing smirk behind her expensive and magical fan. "I can't believe you're actually here," she quietly addressed the dog demon leaning against the cold wall.

His usually impassive expression was almost readable. "Me neither, Kagura," he responded, gulping. "Me neither."

The wind demoness was about to speak again when a high-pitched voice interrupted her.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" a young human woman squealed excitedly. "Isn't it time to stroke your fur?"

Kagura's jaw tightened at the sight of the short, dark-haired girl. She slowly closed her eyes, letting out a frustrated, villain-like laugh. "Stroke your fur?" she repeated.

Sesshomaru cleared his throat, ignoring her.

"Sessho—oh, hello," the human with a fur fetish greeted politely. "My name is Rin Noto."

"And I'm the new Kikyo," Kagura deadpanned. "No wonder you would defend your half-breed of a brother; two-timing runs in the family, after all," she scoffed, stomping away.

Thankfully for Sesshomaru, they weren't standing outside or he would have gone home with his hair all tangled and dirty this time as well, although he wondered why the wind demoness had come in the first place. He was going to murder Inuyasha—he couldn't really take it out on the half-breed's girlfriend, who originally invited him.

It was so hard to be kind.

"Thank you for coming," the red-haired bride said to her best friend, hugging her tightly once in the ballroom. "Thank you, Kagome. I'll think of you when I am tanning at the beach in Singapore and getting laid in the best of ways."

"You'd better not, you lesbian," the flower delivery girl teased back, sticking out her tongue at the wolf demoness.

"Hmm, I didn't know about you two," Ayame's now husband chimed in, grinning lecherously.

As he found their conversation to be slightly disturbing, a bored half-demon coughed.

"Well, if this isn't my best man," Koga joked.

"That's something I still don't understand, by the way," the business man dryly commented. It was past mid-summer already and the weather was still hot; he was nearly suffocating in that suit. When Kagome's best friend's husband raised an eyebrow at him, Inuyasha grandly elaborated, "We're not friends."

"You're rich."

"Wolf."

"Half street sandwich."

The dog demon growled menacingly. "Hey—"

That was when the ballroom doors opened, only to reveal a young, chestnut-haired man in uniform. The guests immediately turned around and the music stopped. Inuyasha covered his eyes as the sun shined brightly, the light blinding him. It had to be the sun. And the happy weather. Because this wasn't some sort of knight in shining armor.

"Well, I knew I'd find you here, Takahashi-san."

Kagome blinked. The thought of hiding crossed her mind. "Hojo?" She winced as he came near them. How was she supposed to tell him she didn't want to go on a date with him this time? How could she tell him she had a boyfriend now? How would she—

"This is for you," he handed Inuyasha a large package, completely ignoring her.

_Well, this is kind of knew,_ she thought while her half-demon sniffed the suspicious parcel.

"Higurashi," the delivery boy finally acknowledged her. "I read a lot of things in the newspaper about you and Inuyasha Takahashi. Please, let me tell you that I still believe we are meant for each other; hopefully, someday you'll see the light."

Kagome laughed nervously. "As long as you don't blind us again, I guess it's okay…"

"Hey!" Inuyasha snapped and for a moment, the raven-haired girl imagined him beating some sense into the human boy. "This is from Kikyo," he realized.

As if on cue, Miroku appeared behind him and snatched the parcel from Inuyasha. He promptly opened it, only to reveal a large saucepan with a post-it note on its lid. The indigo-eyed man grinned mischievously. "_Hola, Inuyasha,_" he read out loud. "_¿Qué tal? Spain is a wonderful country so far. We eat and sleep a lot. I saw on the Internet that there are rumors about you finally being official with the mystery girl everyone used to talk about. I am happy for you; this is why I am sending this to you. I know you have a healthy appetite. Adios._"

Everyone including the newlywed couple gathered around him to see what was in there.

A nauseating smell assaulted their senses.

Under the lid, another note.

_If the paella is rotten already, then it's from the heart. – Kikyo_

"What is this thing?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Inuyasha turned around slowly, his friends, girlfriend and the newlywed couple doing exactly the same, and he pinched his nose. There was a red-haired, disgusted server standing there, holding a tray of appetizers. Green collided with golden and chocolate. A glare. A wince.

A gulp. "Oh, hey—it's you, guys. The couple from the restaurant and the _Love Tunnel_."

"_Love Tunnel_?" Koga whispered to his wife. "Sounds like porn."

"What the hell are you doing here?" the half-demon bellowed, his fists set tight.

The fox demon shrugged. "An economics student has bills to pay?"

As Ayame and Koga sliced their wedding cake, the dog went after the fox.

* * *

"I do think you're making a harsh decision."

"I am not."

"You are."

"Are you scared?"

In the dim light of the hotel room, she could see him blush. He was even worse than a teenage boy, she swore. This wasn't that much of a big deal to her. Taking a few steps forward, she waved the suggestive, plastic-wrapped box in front of him.

"Come on, Inuyasha. Everyone else has been going at it and you are just standing _there_."

The half-demon swallowed hard. How could he tell her he had never done that before? "That doesn't mean we have to."

His girlfriend scoffed. "Hey, I'd like to have some fun, too. It was Ayame's wedding today, so there were a lot of other distractions, thankfully…but what about next time?"

"Kagome," he whined, his leg throbbing.

"You _are_ scared!" the delivery girl pointed her index finger at him. When he snorted, she playfully added, "I'll teach you."

Canine ears twitched once. Twice. "You're actually experienced?" As she untied her _yukata_, Inuyasha backed until his shoulders hit the wall behind him. "Wh-wh-what are you doing?"

"It's silly—really, it is. There's this tension at first and then, you start to remove your clothing…" Kagome moved towards him, carefully unwrapping the box and removing the plastic. "Then, when there's nothing left, you're supposed to—"

"Stop it already, I know—"

Kagome tackled him to the ground, laughing at his terrified expression. Was it so bad to see her in her underwear? She asked him, straddling his waist as he lied on the floor, his face only a few inches away from her chest. Her half-demon gave her no answer.

Slowly sitting up, Kagome was surprised to feel a very hardened part of his body pressing against her bottom. She gulped, then glanced down at him. Inuyasha seemed to have forgotten how to properly breathe and looked like he was about to burst. Literally.

"Um, Inuy—?"

"That's your fault, entirely, flashing your boobs like that."

She waved the frightening box in front of him again, raising an eyebrow at him. "It's just strip-poker."

The silver-haired demon looked away, pursing his lips—the blush was still there. "Well, I don't know how to play."

"Doesn't seem like we actually need foreplay." She giggled. "Will you at least last longer than a minute?"

Narrowing his eyes, Inuyasha grabbed her hips and skillfully switched their positions. "Would you like me to show you?"

He bended down to kiss her and she met him halfway. Sneaking her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer, melting in his arms as his large hands traveled up her chest. He fumbled a bit with her bra and realized it clipped the front after three minutes of endless pulling. Kagome laughed softly, smooching sounds filling her ears. Her boyfriend lapped at her valley and her legs rose from the floor, wrapping around his hips. This wasn't something she had planned at all but it was nowhere near bad.

Inuyasha removed his dress shirt when her hands teased his abs, her blunt nails digging into his skin. As soon as he was done, his lips found hers again, his fingers toying with the hem of her cotton panties. There were bees printed on it but he paid no attention to that; there could be puppies instead, he still wouldn't care. His nose twitched, smelling her intoxicating essence. He slid his fingers under her panties—the wetness increased.

Kagome's heart was beating so fast her head pounded. She had never had sex before. This wasn't the right time to panic. What could go wrong, anyway? …but what if she wasn't ready yet?

She glanced up at him. His hair was long, messy and sexy. He was sexy. He was stupidly rich and a lot self-centered—he already had a condom in his hand! He moved and she rubbed against his knee. _Screw it._ Ready or not, she was as horny as a lonely mare.

Kagome eyed his pants and bit her bottom lip. She reached out; her hands were on the waistband of his slacks, his hardened member making a tent. _Here goes…_ She licked her lips—a failed attempt at acting sexy herself—and undid the button.

"Kagome," he groaned at the visuals.

There was more fumbling and the sound of tearing. The delivery girl frowned, then pulled at the fly until—

"FUCKING SHIT, KAGOME!"

Inuyasha rolled on the floor, cupping his miniature self since the skin got caught in the zipper.

Kagome covered her mouth with her hands, muttering an apology.

The night was still young.

**The End**

* * *

**Word counts:** 1,312; 784

* * *

_**Acknowledgements**_

**Mika:** Let's not be sad about it. I am actually happy. This means we move on to many other stories! Anyway, it seems like working in an office and never getting out makes you afraid of roller-coasters…or it could just be Inuyasha. Good luck with your finals and thank you for your support!

**AnimeFreak:** Thank you! I think the roller-coaster scene is a classic. I've seen a lot of these in animes, haha. I am still glad you liked it.

* * *

_**Flower Delivery won Third Place for Best Comedy (4th Quarter 2010, IYFG)**_

_Special thanks to _**Ai Kisugi**_ for the nomination, to _**KittyKaiya**_ for seconding the story and to everyone who voted for it._

_An extended thank you goes to my most faithful readers. I am not going to try and make a list because I would probably forget some of you and then I would be ashamed of myself. Just remember that the story went on and on to the point it was complete thanks to the people who either constantly commented or sent me constructive reviews from time to time._

_I hope to hear from you again as I will be completing my other stories and posting some more. :)_

– _Ms. Kinky_


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